


For Old Time's Sake

by BritishAssassin



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Family, Friendship, Gen, Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2018-09-27 06:41:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 42,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9980984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BritishAssassin/pseuds/BritishAssassin
Summary: When thinking of friends in the past, one would like of them with fond memories. But what happens when a past friend and one bad decision from past reappear. Jacob is about to find out.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back haha! Can't keep me away! 
> 
> Enjoy Guys!

No one spoke. No one moved. All eyes were on the pair sat at the table. The two fifteen-year-old teenagers had been engaged in this battle of cards for a fair number of hours now. It had been a close battle between the two but it had only come down to this either the teenager would make his move, or he would not. Whilst the one teenager sat there staring intently at his cards the other sat there looking the definition of confident. He smirked at the boys watching the game who responded by giggling slightly. There was a sudden sigh of exasperation the first boy lay down his cards.

“You win Jacob. There is no way I can top a move like that.”

Jacob Frye punched the air, “See I told you Robert. Nobody can beat me at cards for I am simply the best.”

Robert rolled his eyes, “Yeah yeah, come on Jacob nobody likes a sore winner."

“Well go buy that round of drinks you promised and I’ll consider stopping my gloating.”

Robert obliged and moved over to the bar not before he’d rolled his eyes. He simply lied to the man behind the bar about his age, he done it so many times before. Leaning against the bar he looked back over to where Jacob sat laughing with the other lads. What more to life could there be then beer, cards and good friends. As the unmistakable sounds of beer being poured into a glass reached his ears Robert had to think that out of all the pubs he, Jacob and the lads went to this was probably the easiest one for them to get served at. All the others seemed to somehow not believe them when they said they were adults, they somehow seemed to know they were lying. Although Robert with his short brown hair and green eyes was rather tall for his age and could mostly get away with ordering beer from anywhere. Jacob could too if he really tried, sometimes he came in already so drunk that he tended to proclaim his age which ended up with him getting kicked out rather quickly. But this proved rather amusing for Robert and the rest of the lads as they enjoyed a pint while Jacob was stuck outside.

The bartender had returned with the drinks, handing the man money Robert returned to Jacob armed with drinks. Handing one to Jacob the pair clinked their pint glasses before downing them in one. The evening past with a lot of drunken antics until they were eventually kicked out of the pub for being too drunk. Jacob staggered over to a nearby lamppost and held on to it.

“I am really drunk right now.” He slurred.

Robert, who was staggering as well, rolled his eyes; “You just noticed?”

“As much fun as this night has been. I should really head back, Father is going to murder me so I’d rather go and get that over with.”

 

Robert did not answer for a moment, Jacob never spoke of his family life. Despite being asked about his family Jacob refused to answer. The Frye’s were an odd family, everyone in Crawley knew that. There was always talk and speculation about them as no one could say for sure what the family actually did. Where they involved in industry? Did they invest and run businesses? No one knew, but what they did know was that whatever they did they earned themselves a good living. The people of Crawley also knew of the tragedy in the family, with the death of Cecily Frye. They knew how she had died in childbirth and then how Ethan Frye had abandoned his children for six years. The Frye children were odd children who did not quite seem right somehow, although the people of Crawley only had Jacob to gawp at nowadays. They knew of Jacob’s older twin sister but she was rarely seen. When the children had first arrived back in Crawley the pair were quite often seen down by the stream with a small handful of friends. But as the pair had got older the elder Frye twin seemed to have retreated to the house meaning that any rare sighting of her was the topic of the town for days to follow. In fact her appearance had become so rare that no one was actually sure what her name was. Jacob referred to her as ‘sister’ whether that was to protect her or because the siblings did not get along no one knew.

“Shall I walk back with you?” Robert slurred, “We’re both in such a state that perhaps walking home alone would be a bad idea.”

Jacob shook his head, “I don’t need a babysitter. Go on, go home. We should sober up before we do the same tomorrow.” 

Robert nodded, knowing it was pointless to press Jacob on the subject. He knew had people come to the house, always meeting away from it. The two boys bid each other a goodnight before heading in their respective ways home.

 

Jacob stumbled up the slight hill and towards the house. As he approached the house, he could see the some of the lights were still lit inside. This was not what he wanted, he had been hoping that his father would have gone to bed by now making sneaking in much easier. The gate creaked slightly as he pushed it open and headed up the gravel path leading to the front door. Maybe if he was lucky he’d be able to somehow get up to his room without bumping into his father. But in all likelihood, that would not happen after all, Ethan Frye knew everything. Jacob stumbled up the front steps where he pushed the front door, which was thankfully not locked. Closing the door as quietly as he could he had only taken a step towards the stairs when there was a cough from behind him. If he’d been sober then the swear would that came to mind would not have slipped from his lips but unfortunately his current drunken state meant that it did. Turning around Jacob looked up into the face of his father and his father’s disapproval was written all over his face.

“And what have you been doing that would kept you out this late?” Ethan asked, folding his arms and frowning at his son.

“Jogging father.” Jacob lied, whilst desperately trying not to let his words slur, “I like to have an evening jog before I turn in for the night.”

“Oh so you went for a jog which kept you out until past midnight.”

Jacob nodded whilst Ethan’s frown deepened.

“Don’t test me Jacob Frye. You know how I feel about you staying out late at night. As Assassin, we work in the dark and the night is not to be feared. But you are barely into your training and anything can happen at night. If you were set upon by the Templar’s then I can almost guarantee you would not be able to fight them off.”

Jacob rolled his eyes, “I’ve got into plenty of fights before Father so I think I can handle myself. Thanks for your concern though.”

 

Jacob regretted saying this as the words left his mouth but being drunk he had not filter to stop him speaking his mind. He could see anger crossing his father’s face.

“You reckless fool, I should have known. One of these days Jacob your reckless behavior is going get yourself killed. Mark my words child you need to stop this, you risk exposing our order to the world.”

“Yeah yeah Father, I’ve heard this all before. All you ever say to me is how I could potentially do this or that. You never give me the benefit of the doubt. If I was Evie you would not be saying this! If I were her then you’d be congratulating me on not getting caught.”

“Don’t you dare bring your sister in to this.” Ethan’s voice was rising, “We are not talking about her, we are talking about you and your selfish behaviour.”

“No let’s talk about you and how you always reprimand me. Do you think for once you could act like my Father and not this person who is always lecturing me? Do you think for once you could treat me like a human being?”

Ethan had obviously had enough but his face was one of fury.

“Go to bed right now and stay there. We have a busy day of training tomorrow and do not even think about sneaking out of the house tomorrow night. It’s time you learnt the meaning of responsibility.”

Jacob turned away without a word and stomped up the stairs. He could feel his father’s eyes on him as he stomped across the upstairs corridor. As if he would listen to his father and not go out tomorrow. When did he ever listen to his father, the answer to that was barely ever. Entering his bedroom he immediately flopped down on his bed. He did not like fighting with his father but all Ethan Frye seemed to do nowadays was have an argument with him over something. He would not take his father’s lectures lying down, he did not deserve it and he wasn’t going to let Ethan get away with it. Even if that meant that their relationship had become quite strained. Behind him he heard the door to his room open and close with a quiet click. He was about to roll over to confirm his suspicions of who’d entered his room but what followed confirmed it for him.

“Seriously Jacob you reek of alcohol, I can smell it from here.”

Jacob rolled over to see his twin sister moving to the window, wafting her hand in front of her face in an attempt to stop the smell assaulting her nose. As Evie open the window, Jacob sat up.

“I don’t think Father noticed though.” He said, grinning at his twin.

Evie gave him one of her famous looks before speaking; “Oh course he would have noticed Jacob you quite literally stink.”

Jacob shook his head, “No he was too busy yelling at me to notice. How much of it were you awake for?”

He did not need to ask whether Evie had simply still been awake or been woken. It was clear from her appearance that she’d been woken by the argument. Her clothes were slightly twisted in places from sleep and that once neat bun she’d pulled her hair back into was running the risk of collapsing.

“Since you dragged my name into the argument.”

Jacob hung his head slightly, he’d been hoping she’d missed that.

“Sorry. You know it was not personal against you right?”

Evie’s face softened and she smiled at her brother, “I know. I just wish you wouldn’t fight as much with Father. He’s only trying to protect you.”

“Well he’s doing a lousy job at showing it.”

As Jacob laid back down on the bed, Evie crawled on to the bed and lay down next to him. She wrinkled her nose as the smell once again assaulted her nose but she was determined to try to ignore it.

“I know but do you think you could at least try to get along with him.”

Jacob looked into those very familiar blue eyes. Evie was the most important person in his life, she was his twin and he could never imagine life without her. Although he could be a right pain in the backside sometimes there was no one more important to him then her. Jacob knew that Evie felt the same about him. They were twins and no one could take that away from them. Jacob sighed, for her maybe he could try to get along with his Father but that still didn’t mean he’d listen to him.

“I can try.” He said, eventually, “But I can’t promise I’ll do a very good job at it.”

Evie smiled at him before curling in close to him. Jacob smiled back and wrapped his arm around her. The pair would often fall asleep together it was just what they did despite them having separate rooms. They’d take comfort from the presence of the other and they would drift into a very refreshing sleep. Jacob closed his eyes, welcoming sleep. He knew that when he woke Evie would be gone, she was the early riser of the pair. But right now that did not matter, she was here now and it was time to sleep. Slowly, the twins drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Jacob opened the door slowly, trying not make any noise. He found the upstairs corridor completely empty with only a few lights lit which was perfect, everyone had gone to bed. Nobody would know what he was up to. Carefully Jacob crept down the landing and on to the stairs. After the day he had had there was no way he was not going out. His father had been lecturing him all day about anything and everything. He was determined to drink away his sorrows. He had just reached the front door when he heard a noise behind him. Turning he saw Evie standing halfway down the stairs.

“Jacob, what are you doing?” There was disappointment in her voice.

“I’m sorry Evie, I just cannot stand his lectures anymore.”

“If you go out now then you’ll make things worse.”

Jacob considered this for a moment but after all the harsh things his father had said to him that day came floating back to him. His grip on the door handle tightened.

“Sorry Evie.”

With that he opened the door and stepped out of it before his sister could get another word it. Evie stared at the door for a moment her mouth was ajar as she’d wanted to call out to her brother but it was too late. He was gone. For a few moments, she just stood there but then an idea came to mind. Hurrying up the stairs she quietly dashed into her room.

* * *

The glass clunked loudly on the table as Jacob slammed it down. Catching the eye of the bartender he tapped on the rim of the glass. Letting out a sigh Jacob put his head in his hands as the bartender refilled his beer glass.

“You look as if you have the weight of the world on your shoulders.” The Bartender said.

Jacob took a swig from his glass, “Not the whole world because enough of it.”

The bartender filled Jacob’s glass again, “Well, you have come to the right place to drink away your sorrows.”

In response Jacob just grunted turning his attention back to his beer. He didn’t even notice that the bartender had walked away. Staring into his drink the things that his farther had said to him during the day came back to him.

‘ _An Assassin is one with the crowd, not to be seen by anyone. Now Jacob can you sure that you have been one with the crowd?_ ’

‘ _An Assassin choses their actions wisely. They are not reckless. Jacob that it something you need to learn._ ’

Jacob let out another sigh and picked up his glass again. As he drank a hooded figure brushed past him and took the seat opposite him. Looking up he saw his sister watching him.

“What are you doing here Evie?”

“I knew it would be hard to make you stay home so I thought I’d come and make sure you get back without being spotted. You know, stealth is my thing.”

Jacob let out a short laugh and took another slip of beer as his sister carefully surveyed the pub. She seemed to deem it safe as she lowered her hood. The pair sat in silence for a while as Jacob continued to stare intently into his drink and Evie continued her silence surveillance of the pub. As she did a rather nasty looking group of men caught her eye. They were staring at her in such a way it made her feel uncomfortable and that was something she had never felt before. Being one of the odd Frye children she was used to being stared at. Both herself and Jacob were the odd children who did not quite seem to fit in. But the way in which these men were looking at her was not in the normal way. The men leaned in close to each other and whispered things which Evie could not work out. She was brought out of her suspicions when a voice spoke behind her.

“Evening Jacob. I see you brought a lady friend to our gathering this evening.”

Jacob looked up to see Robert pulling up a chair. Robert sat between Jacob and the other girl, looking at her with interest. She looked back at him with a rather disapproving look, a look that he could have sworn he’d seen before.

“Robert this is my sister, Evie.” Jacob said, taking another swig from his beer.

“Ah.” Robert turned backed to Evie, “I thought you looked so familiar.”

Evie held Robert’s gaze but said nothing. Robert seemed to consider her for a moment before he looked away towards the bartender. As the bartender brought over a drink for Robert he spoke. Robert glanced at Evie again before looking back at his beer, he never seen Jacob's sister before so this a very weird situation. Evie was not quite how he'd expected her to be. He'd expected her to be more like Jacob but she was certainly more reserved then he was. It was harder to guess what she was thinking whereas Jacob could be like an open book at times. Light conversation broke out between Robert and Jacob a few more of Jacob’s friends joined them. Soon the table was littered with empty beer glasses and the group were steady getting drunker. The only member of the group that was not taking part in the group’s antics was Evie. She was still sitting in the chair with her arms folded, although she did not like being out against their father’s wishes she had to ensure that Jacob got back safely. She had to try and help him to not get into to anymore trouble. But that might be difficult seeing as Jacob was now very drunk.

 Jacob staggered to his feet, beer still in hand.

“So lads” He slurred, “What shall we get up to tonight? I’d say cards but we’ve done that too much. Also, no one here can beat me so there’d be little point.”

“I 'eard there was a fight club round the corner from 'ere.” One of the lads said.

There were sounds of approval going round the group, all except for Evie. She had started to glare at her brother, she was hoping that her brother would not agree to this plan. But from the look on his face, it was clear that he was going to.

“Right then, lead the way.”

The group made their way loudly out of the pub with Jacob at it’s head and his twin at the rear. Evie followed slightly behind the group and pulling her hood up as she went. This was a bad idea, she knew it would be. The group made their way to a quiet part of town where the buildings were hardly ever used. They approached a small warehouse, the wood and bricks on the outside were cracked due to age. The wooden doors were hanging off slightly and they could hear the faintest sounds off noise coming from inside. Being an unused part of town there was barely any street lights meaning that the main source of light was spilling out for said warehouse. The group of boys began to move towards the warehouse but Evie grabbed Jacob’s arm preventing him for walking.

“Jacob, this is stupid let’s just go back home. You don’t want to risk making Father any madder then he already is.”

Jacob wrenched his arm out of her grip with surprising force, “I don’t care Evie. Really, I don’t give a monkeys anymore. Let father do as he pleases, we both know he couldn’t care less about me.”

“You don’t mean that.” Evie said, although she frowned slightly, “That’s the alcohol talking.”

“Oh but I do Evie. So I am going to go in there, I’m going to punch some loser in the face and forget about all my problems. If you are so concerned about keeping dear old dad happy then go home.”

Without waiting for a response Jacob turned and strolled into the warehouse. For a moment Evie just stood there watching the retreating back of her brother. She knew that she could not just leave him in this state. Although Jacob was being a complete pain in the backside currently she could not leave him to most likely get himself beaten up. Reluctantly Evie started to walk towards the warehouse where inside she found that her drunk brother was already in the ring. Climbing up onto a nearby pile of wooden crates she settled herself to watch her brother, this was going to be a long night.


	3. Chapter 3

Evie leant against the stack of wooden crates with her arms folded, watching her brother fight with someone who she did not know. The warehouse was full of cheers and jeers depending on which person they were backing to win. Evie looked away as Jacob failed to miss an incoming punch, she did not like watching her brother get hurt but he was determined to take part in this fight club. It was only a week since they’ve first found this club but Jacob and his friends had become constant competitors. Some days they’d come drunk to the fight club which always ending in Evie and Robert dragging Jacob from the ring to prevent him hurting himself further. However, this time Jacob was completely sober which hopefully meant that Evie would not have to drag him from the ring. Somehow after a week of both of them sneaking out at night their father was still in the dark about this. He did not know that both his children were going out at night and coming back late. But Evie knew it was only a matter of time before their father found out, Jacob always came back with injures but somehow he’d been able to hide the minor injuries he’s sustained from their father. As Evie looked back towards the ring her eyes caught a glance of a group of men who’d she could have sworn she’d seen before. There was about five men in that little group and they were all looking at Evie in a way which made her uncomfortable. It was when that feeling hit that she realised where see had seen these men before. One the first night Jacob had been to this fight club those same men had been in the pub with them. Evie quickly looked away as one of them leered at her. What were they doing here? Were they just here for the fight club or were they following her? She could feel something building up inside her, perhaps she could even say that it was slight panic but she refused to believe that she was capable of panic. An Assassin did not panic. But she knew that this feeling  had been caused by seeing those men again. As much as she hated to admit it there was no denying that it had completely unnerved her. A voice suddenly brought her out of her thoughts.

“Hey Evie.” It was Robert, “Jacob’s doing pretty well tonight.”

Evie rolled her eyes, “I still say this is a bad idea.”

“Come on Evie, Jacob’s a star. He dominates the ring.”

“So you think this is ok?” Evie snapped, “Watching people beat the stuffing out of each other for fun? For money?”

She placed a hand over her face and closed her eyes. She really did not like being here, but as much as she tried she could not persuade Jacob to stop coming. She especially did not like it here now she knew those men came here as well. She let out a rough breath. She could feel eyes on her, she couldn't lose her cool.

“It’s ok Evie,” Robert said, in an attempt to comfort her, “Jacob’s really good, he knows how to handle himself. If you’re worried about him getting hurt then don’t he is always fine.”

“No it’s not. None of this is ok Robert, you know that. How many times have we had to drag him from the ring and patch him up.”

“Evie, just calm down. You’re getting too worked up over this, this is completely normal. Everyone does things like this. It’s nothing to worry about.”

Evie glared at Robert for a moment before turning and exiting the warehouse. The cool evening breeze hit her face pushing the loose strands of hair across her face. She stood there and slowly breathed in the cool air. The cool air helped her to start calming down, although her hands still trembled slightly. Why were those damn men making her feel this unnerved? She did not even know who they were so what was making her feel like this? Taking a deep breath Evie regained her composure, they were just creepy men. Nothing for her to worry about. Now she was going to go back inside grab her brother and drag him home. She turned and took a step back towards the fight club but her path was blocked by a group of people. The same people who had forced her to come out here to calm down. The men were still wearing the nasty expressions on their faces.

“Well looking what we have here.” One of them said.

“A pretty young girl all alone out in the night.” Another said.

Evie folded her arms, “Look I really don’t care to find out the rest of what you plan to say. So if you will excuse me I am going back inside.”

She made to move towards the warehouse doors but one of the men grabbed her shoulder. Her Assassin instincts kicked in and she grabbed the hand roughly and forced the men to let go.

“Oh look we have a fighter here, that will makes things all the sweeter.”

The men were still looking at her in such a way which continued to much her feel so uncomfortable. Something told her that they were not here to only start a fight. One of the men, who seemed to be the leader, stepped towards her. Evie decided that enough was enough, she had to protect herself from whatever intentions these men had. She tried to deliver a punch to the man but the men saw it come and grabbed her wrist tightly. She could feel her wrist being crushed in vice like grip.

“You know lads I think we need to wait a bit longer.” The men said, still crushing Evie’s wrist, “Let’s go to the pub.”

The man leant in towards Evie, far too close for her liking.

“See you around… Miss.”

The man let go and walked away, glancing over his shoulder as he went. Evie looked down at her wrist, it was bright red. No doubt a bruise would appear there. Great. How was she going to hide that from her father. Looking up she could just about see the retreating back of those men. Adrenaline was flowing through her body, what the hell had just happened? She suddenly felt another hand on her shoulder. Jumping violently away from whoever it was Evie spun around to confront the person, only to find it was her brother. Jacob looked at her with a questioning look. Apart from a slightly bloody nose, he seemed unharmed.

“Evie? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I’m fine.”

Jacob heard the tremble in her voice and gave her a look. He knew her to well to not know when something was up. Moving towards her he pulled her into a hug which she returned.

“Look, I know you had a chat with Robert. I know you disapprove of this place but for me this is the only place I can let my frustrations out. I know you don’t like it but I think this will help me to stop arguing with father.”

Evie pulled away from her twin and looked at him. She could not decide whether to tell him about what had just happened. Deciding against it she sighed.

“Look, can we just go home?”

Jacob smiled slightly, “Sure, I’ve been all those losers in there twice already tonight. Time to rest and do it all again tomorrow.”

If Evie had been in better frame of mind then she might have rolled her eyes but instead she did not react. Jacob began to lead the way home but a voice called out to them.

“Oi. You must be Jacob Frye, the champion of the ring.”

The twins turned to find a boy perhaps a year older then them smirking at them. The boy had two other boys either side of him, they were sneering at Jacob.

“Yeah that’s me.” Jacob said, taking a couple of steps towards the boy, “And who do you think you are?”

“Me? I’m Will Curtis.” The boy said, “I was the champion of this ring until you came along. I’m here to warn you, stay away from my ring. Or else.”

Jacob laughed, “And what are you going to do if I don’t”

“Trust me friend.” Will sneered, “You don’t want to find out.”

Jacob scoffed, “You don’t scare me. You look like that little rich boy whose mummy still does everything for.”

Will smirked, “At least I still have a mother.”

That hit a nerve, Jacob marched up to Will and glare at him.

“You’re asking for it now. Meet me here tomorrow and we shall settle this. I’ll kick your ass and when I do you will piss off and I will never have to see your pathetic face again.”

“Deal.”

The two shook hands but Jacob turned and marched away. He marched past his sister who was wearing a concerned expression. There was silence on the way back, apart from when Evie tried to talk to Jacob about what had just happened. Jacob was too cross to discuss what had happened. When the pair reached the house they managed to sneak in through the back door which was the way they’d come out. Jacob knew as he climbed the stairs that Evie was going to try and talk again so he darted into his room and shut the door. He was too angry to talk, tomorrow when he’d calmed down he’d talk to her.

* * *

Ethan Frye noticed that both of his children were quieter then usual, as the three of them sat in the study. The twins were supposed to be following the text that Ethan was reading but it appeared they were not listening. Jacob was always quiet and never seemed to pay much attention to anything. But Evie was normally so attentive. She was currently sat with the book he’d given both of them open in front of her but it seemed she wasn’t really following it. She was wearing an unreadable expression which was odd. Jacob, on the over hand, was not even trying to hide the fact that he was not listening, he was staring straight out of the window, obviously lost in thought. Ethan sighed internally, there was no way he was going to teach either of them anything at the moment. Perhaps giving them time to straighten out whatever it was that was troubling them then they might be ready to learn. Well, Jacob still probably wouldn’t but Evie would then she could teach Jacob. She had a knack of somehow managing to get Ethan's teaching in to Jacob's brain even if he then didn’t follow them. Putting down the book Ethan looked at his children.

“Go get some fresh air, we shall continue in an hour.” He said.

He watched his children leave the room rather quietly, normally Jacob would almost break down the door to escape from the study. But today... today was different. There was no haste from either of them, they just quietly left the room. Ethan sat back in his chair, interlocking his fingers. Something was definitely up with those two.

The twins moved to the back garden where they sat together under the shade of an oak tree. Evie rubbed her bruised wrist and looked at her brother. There was silence for a while but Evie finally broke it. 

“Jacob, last night –“

“Last night we met a spoilt rich kid who thinks he is the bees knees. Tonight I’m going to teach that asshole a lesson.”

“I really think it is a bad idea Jacob, I have a feeling that I’ve heard that his name somewhere before.”

“So what Evie, he disrespected us and mother. He has to be taught a lesson.”

Evie sighed and looked away across the back garden. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the church spire. In that churchyard she knew that their mother was buried there. Evie sighed, she missed her. Even though Cecily had died after giving birth to Jacob and therefore Evie had not known her, she could not help but long to talk to her.  There were so many things she wanted to ask her mother. After the events of last night it was about now that she could really do with a talk to mother or someone who’d been a mother figure to them. The closest person to be like a mother to them had been their grandmother. But they’d not seen her in a long time although they were both in regular contact with her.

“I’m sorry Evie.” Jacob was saying, “I don’t want to upset you.”

He sat up and put an arm around his twin.

“Look, maybe it is best that you stay here tonight. Tomorrow you can go all big sister on me and come protect me but maybe tonight it is better that you stay away from all this,”

Evie looked at him, she could not deny that that was a very agreeable option. After that unnerving encounter last night with these creepy men she really did not want to go back into the town and risk meeting them again. But at the same time she did not like the idea of leaving her brother alone. What happened if he got badly hurt? Who would be there to help him? Well the answer to that was Robert, he was Jacob’s best friend. Sighing Evie nodded.

“Ok but promise me that you’ll be careful.”

Jacob laughed, “I’m always careful.”

Evie shook her head then rested it on her twin’s shoulder. Everything would be alright… wouldn’t it?

* * *

The evening had drawn in. It was cold and unforgiving much like Jacob currently. He was staring out the window, preparing himself for what was to come. He knew his father had gone to bed but he was waiting for the right time to leave. His father took a while to fall asleep, he could not risk getting caught by him. Not tonight. A few more minutes past before he decided that it was safe to leave. Creeping out on to the landing, with his boots in hand, he made his way to the front door. He slipped out and closed it with a soft click. Jacob paused on the front steps to put his boots on before setting off towards the gates and after that the fight club. Somewhere along the route to the fight club Robert appeared, seemingly for nowhere. He clapped Jacob on the back.

“Well my old friend, are you ready for this fight?”

Jacob smirked, “Of course, let’s teach Mister Will Curtis a lesson shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story is really starting now! I hope you are all enjoying it!


	4. Chapter 4

To say that Will Curtis was angry did not quite do it justice. He was livid. Storming into his room he slammed the door behind him. Once inside he began to pace up and down. He did not lose. He never lose, that was _his_ fight club. He did not get beaten in his fight club, especially not by some punk who thought he was the bee’s knees. Moving over to the window Will looked to the window, he watched as the morning sun slowly broke over the top of the surrounding houses. In the distance he could see the pub where, he guessed, Jacob Frye would still be celebrating that win.

“Mark my words Assassin. I am going to bring you down.”

Will clenched his fists, he knew who Jacob Frye really was and he was determined to use that against him. He knew how to bring the Assassin down and he vowed to do just that.

* * *

Jacob had been smirking all day, he couldn’t help it. He really couldn’t. He was just rather pleased with himself. His mood meant that all the comments that his father had made about him and his lack of, in his words, respect for the ways of an Assassin were met with a simple smirk. Jacob sat back in his chair, placing his hands behind his head and legs on the table. He gazed at his sister, who was perusing the books on the shelf. The two were currently sat in the study where they were studying, well they were supposed to be studying. Jacob was too busy gloating about his victory to himself and Evie was searching for something.

“You know Evie, today is a great day. It really is a great day.” Jacob said, grinning.

“Yes I know.” Evie replied, not taking her eyes off the book she was reading, “This is the fourth time you’ve told me.”

Jacob swung his legs down from the table as he sat up straight looking at his twin.

“You should have seen the way the guy looked when I punched him in the face for the sixth time. Priceless Evie.”

“There are other ways to settle problems you know.”

Jacob rolled his eyes, “Yeah if we had it your way then we’d all be sat round a table having a healthy debate right.”

He knew what the look his sister gave him meant. For a moment, there was silence as Evie continued to skim through the book and Jacob continued to relive the fight of the previous night. Evie ran her finger down the list of names in the current book she was holding.

“What was the name of the guy you beat up last night?” Evie asked, after a few minutes.

Opening his mouth Jacob made to speak, but he closed it again. That was a very good question.

“Really?” Evie said, raising an eyebrow.

Jacob just grinned at her in a oh-so-innocent way.

“So you punch someone in the face and don’t care to remember his name afterwards.”

“You said it sister, I was too busy punching him in the face.” Jacob saw the look he was being given, “Ok ok, his name was Will something or other. Why do you even care?”

“I could have sworn that I have heard that name before.” Evie replied, turning back to the book shelf.

As she returned the book she was holding back to the shelf and ran her finger along the other books she once again mentally kicked herself. She remembered everything... always. Everything Father told them she remembered. But she could not remember that boy’s last name even though he’d met them only last night. If those stupid creepy man hadn’t been so creepy then perhaps she’d be able to remember the name. It was hard to say why but something was telling her that whatever that boy’s last night was it was important. She could not exactly say why but something told her that something was not right here. But she would find out, she was determined to. The door to the study opened to reveal Ethan Frye.

“Come.” He said, “Time for combat training.”

* * *

Sat from a short distance Ethan gazed upon his children as they sparred. He observed the two different fighting styles which his children were displaying. He noted how Jacob was more aggressive in his moves whereas Evie was more cunning and tried to strike where Jacob would least expect it. Although as he watched, Ethan had to admit that Jacob seemed to have much more fighting experience. He just seemed to be more confidence and comfortable in combat then Ethan expected. The way he moved seemed to suggest that maybe he'd had some real combat experience. Although Ethan could not understand how or why. The only time the twins were in combat was when they were training. So how could Jacob be as confident as he was? He continued to ponder over this until his attention was drawn to the man who’d just sat down beside him.

“Afternoon Ethan.”

“Afternoon George.”

George Westhouse watched the young Frye children for a moment before speaking. He watched the way both twins fought, they had definitely improved in their combat skills since the last time he had seen them. 

“They seem to be getting a lot better in combat.”

Ethan made a noise of agreement, “Jacob seemed far to comfortable there. More then I expect him to be.”

“Well he has always been the more adventurous of the two. Perhaps he has just been getting more practice.”

"But from where George, they do not fight apart from during training and under my supervision."

George looked over, he watched Jacob more closely this time. He did seem far to comfortable in combat, more then a normal Assassin recruit. But Jacob had always been stronger then his twin and now that they were getting older perhaps it was just that. Maybe he was getting strong far quicker then his sister which explained him sparring with apparent ease. 

“I just have a feeling that something isn’t right." Ethan continued, "I’m sure they are both up to something but I do not know what.”

“Why not just ask them?”

Ethan gaze his friend a look, “Have you met my children?”

The pair laughed before Ethan looked back over to his children. As he watched he caught a glimpse of Evie’s face and something pulled at his heart. Evie had inherited her mother’s features and in that moment with the expression she had pulled was the spitting imagine of her mother. Cecily. What would she say if she was still here? If something really was going on with his children then he had to find out what. Although he knew that they were capable of handling themselves, due to their Assassin training, they were still young and more naïve then either of them were prepared to admit. He may be raising them to be skilled killers but he had a duty to protect them until they reached the point where they could easily handle themselves. He knew that Cecily would never forgive him if he failed to protect them. He had already failed them by abandoning them whilst they were young, there was so much he'd missed. But he would not fail them now, he had to find out what was going on. For Cecily.

“I need you to follow my children George.” Ethan said, “They will know if I try to follow them, they are far too cunning for their own good.”

George nodded “I will.”

“But don’t let them see you or they will get suspicious.”

George nodded, “Don’t worry. They will never know that I’m watching.”

* * *

Unbeknownst to Jacob when he left the house that evening to continue his celebrations there were two people watching him. Two people with very different intentions. Whilst one’s intentions were purely to protect. The other was not. The other person had not kind intention towards Jacob at all.  Both sets of eyes watched as Jacob met up with his closest friend and headed towards the pub. Both saw Jacob drinking the night away. Up on the roof opposite the pub, George Westhouse settled down to wait for Jacob to emerge. Whilst Will Curtis, who was hidden round the corner from the pub, smirked. Little to Jacob know that he was about to bring hell down on that Assassin-to-be’s head. He would regret the day that he beaten him in that fight. Nobody messed with the Curtis family. That was something that Jacob would soon learn. Now it was just time to wait, wait for the right moment to strike. Little did Jacob know, all hell was about to break loose.


	5. Chapter 5

The room was dark, it was just how she liked it when she slept. But this night she couldn’t, she could not get to sleep. Rolling over Evie let out a sigh, there was just too much going on in her head. She had a good idea about what was causing her insomnia. Jacob and that boy. Rolling over again she tried to put everything out of her mind, a good night’s sleep would help. A full three minutes past before Evie finally gave up. Throwing her duvet off she stood up, she had to do something about what was bothering her. She changed into some loose trousers and shirt before heading out of her room. Looking up the corridor she saw the light in her father’s room was still on. She crept down the corridor and into study. Lighting a candle she started running her finger across the books, looking for a certain book, determined to find the answers to the nagging question. Who was that boy? She knew that the boy’s first name was Will, that was a start.  But something was telling her that this Will was well know. The problem was she could not quite work out how he was well known.

Eventually after what seemed like a age, she found the book she was after. Flopping, a little ungracefully, into a nearby chair Evie opened the book and started flicking through the pages. It was not until she stumbled across a picture of that exact boy they had met the other night that she stopped.  Frowned she stared at the picture of the boy before reading the words written underneath. It read ‘ _Will Curtis, youngest member of the Curtis Family_ ’. That was where she had heard the name before, the Curtis Family as the richest family in Crawley. Everybody knew about them, they had a reputation for being extremely snobbish. Reading on in the book she read about how the Curtis had made themselves so wealthy. But the book had no answer, saying only how the Curtis’ had become incredibly wealthy through unknown sources. Unknown sources? That was odd, normally rich families loved to declare just how they were getting their money. Gazing at the family photo, which had appeared on the next page of the book, Evie had to wonder about how the Curtis’ had so much money. A sudden thought crossed her mind but she had to be wrong. There was no way. If her suspicion turned out to be true then Jacob was in big trouble. But the book she needed was her father’s and its whereabouts was a mystery to her. Getting up Evie began her search through the desk drawers, she had to find the answer to her suspicions. It could not be true, it just couldn’t be. To her surprise, she found the book she needed with ease. Skimming quickly through the pages she found the answer to her question. She froze and the book fell from her hands, it couldn’t be true. But it was which meant Jacob was in trouble. Turning Evie sprinted from the room and through the unlocked front door. She raced down the path, she had to find her brother. There was no time to lose.

Racing through the gates she began running towards the pubs which she knew Jacob sometimes went to. The wind tugged at her loose hair and clothing but she ignored it. Nothing would stop her from finding her brother… or so she thought. Running down a dimly light road her path was suddenly blocked by two figures into front of her. These men were much taller than she was meaning she would not be able to get past them easily. She turned to try and return the way she’d come but found three more men behind her.

“Well well well,” One of the men said, “Look what we have here.”

Evie looked around, there was no escape. Then men had encircled her meaning that there was no hope of her running or evening climbing up the side of the building.  She was trapped.

* * *

George could not be sure how long he’d been sat up on the roof but it seemed like hours. But after hours of staring through the window of the pub, Jacob had emerged from the pub with a friend. The pair seemed to talk about things which George could not quite believe. He’d heard them talk about a fight club and how Jacob had ‘Handed that boy’s arse to him on a plate’. This must be what Jacob was sneaking out to do at night, Ethan was not going to be happy about this. George watched as the two teenagers started to walk but up the road but their path was blocked by a small gang of boys. George recognised one member of the group immediately. Will Curtis. Letting out groan George silently wished that Jacob had not done anything to annoy this boy. Of all the people in Crawley, the Curtis’ family were not to be annoyed given the secret afflictions to a secret order. This could spell trouble. He was about to climb down from the roof, seeing as discussion between Jacob and Will were getting heated, when he heard someone scream. The scream came from a short distance away and for some reason the scream sounded familiar. Seeing as, for the moment, the discussion between the teenagers were not yet progressed to violence George turned away from them and towards the source of the scream. He would check what that was then come back for Jacob, hopefully nothing would kick of between the teenagers. He prayed that nothing did.

* * *

“Well look who just didn’t seem to get the message.” Jacob smirked, his gaze locked on the person in front of him.

Beside him Robert smirked as well. Will Curtis, on the other hand, did not seem to appreciate Jacob’s comment.

“I told you Frye.” He called, “No one defeats me in _my_ fight club.”

“Oh give it a rest will you.” Jacob shot back, “We made a deal. I won so you have to piss off. I really don’t want to have to punch you in the face again. I could do without an imprint of your face on my knuckles.”

“You think I’m scared of you Frye?”

Jacob laughed, “Well of course you are, you brought four of your buddies here. Too much of a whimp to face me yourself?”

Will smirked as he pulled a short knife from his pocket. Beside him the lads he’d brought with him did the same.

“No but I know who you are, _Assassin_.” Will replied, his smirk broadened as he saw the look on the latter’s face.

Jacob was taken aback, how did this guy know about his heritage. Nobody know about that, even when he’d been completely drunk he had never once revealed his biggest secret. So how could this guy know about this. He knew that Robert was giving him a questioning look but he did not meet Robert’s gaze. He had to keep this secret safe or risk exposing them all. He may not listen to much of what his father said, but he knew it was vital that the brotherhood remained secret. Right now it was not just his life at risk, but his sister’s and father’s as well. If this boy knew of their heritage it could safely be assumed that they had to ties to a certain organisation.

“What on Earth are you talking about?” Jacob asked, decided that playing dumb might work.

“Oh don’t try and deny it. I know all about you and your sister, I know who you are. You disrespected me and now you are going to pay. Once I have dealt with you I might just pay your sister a visit.”

The look on Will’s face made Jacob’s blood boil. Nobody threatened his twin, but the problem was Jacob was not carrying any weapons to defend himself and Robert. Fists were no match for knives. Will and his gang of friends charged. Knowing that there was no other option Jacob turned tail and ran with Robert close on his heels. They raced through the streets trying their best to shake off their pursers.

“What the hell is going on Jacob? Why are these guys trying to kill us? And, what did that guy call you?”

“I have no idea Robert but it’s best that we don’t stick around to find out.”

Jacob turned another corner and dared to take a glance behind him. Curtis and the others were still following them. Looking ahead he saw a split in the road, this might their only chance to shake off their pursers.

“Robert, you go that way and I’ll go the other. We might be able to shake them off. When you’re clear met me at the river.”

Robert nodded and raced of down the side street whilst Jacob kept running forwards. As he’d expected their pursers split to keep following them with two going after Robert and the remaining three, including a certain Will Curtis, followed Jacob. Now that he did not have Robert following him, he allowed his Assassin training to come out. Leaping over fences and walls he managed to break the line of sight with his pursers which gave him the perfect opportunity to climb the side of a shop and take to the safety of the rooftops. Jacob stopped and took a moment to catch his breath knowing that he could not be seen by anyone on the ground. Not a minute later Curtis and his two friends appeared, they slowed to a stop and looked around.

“Where is he?” Curtis demanded, “Damn, that Assassin is far more clever then I expected.”

Without even bothering to look up at the rooftops, Curtis ran off. Jacob let out a sigh of relief, now he had to find Robert and make sure he had gotten away. He had just moved to jump down off the roof when a voice behind him made him stop.

“Jacob.”

Turning Jacob was surprised to see his father’s friend George Westhouse standing. His shock at seeing the man meant that he missed the concerned expression on the latter’s face.

“George? What are you doing here?”

“There is no time for that you must come now.” George said, beckoning quickly.

“No wait, I have to find a friend of mine we’ve just escaped from a rather nasty lad who really does not know when to –“

“Jacob! There is no time, come now. It’s your sister.”

Fear flooded through Jacob. What was happening? Where was Evie? Was she ok? He and George jumped down from the rooftops. George began to sprint up the street with Jacob close on his heels. Just as they were about to turn the corner Jacob heard his name.

“Jacob! Jacob help!”

It was Robert. Skidding to a halt and turning Jacob saw Robert being held by Curtis and his gang. Robert was fighting against his captors, trying desperately to get away from them. The group were a fair way down the street so Jacob was not sure that they could see him. Robert continued to call out of him which left Jacob unsure of his next move. Behind him George was shouting at him to follow but Jacob was routed to the spot. He did not know what to do. Did he go to the aid of his best friend or his sister? There was a choice to be made. Save Robert? Or save Evie?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh! Cliffhanger!


	6. Chapter 6

George sprinted down the street following the sound of loud shouts. He forced himself to run faster as fast as his legs would let him. He couldn’t be sure whether Jacob was following him but there was no time to check whether he was there or not. Rounding a corner, he finally laid eyes on the group. He could see Evie surrounded by a group of men much taller than she was. As he sprinted towards them he saw her being thrown on the ground, where she did not move. One of the men crouched over her, staring down at her. George did not know what was about to happen but he was not going to allow it to happen. As he ran he pulled out his kurki, he hoped he would not have to use it but he would not take the chance. From his current distance, it was not clear whether the group were carrying any weapons. But as he got a little closer he could see that one was indeed holding a knife. But this was no worry, these people were just thugs, they would be no match for a highly skilled Assassins with decades of experience. As he neared the group George slowed to a walk. He was only a couple of metres away from them.

“If you value your lives then step away from her.” George warned, raising his blade in a threatening manner and continuing to walk towards them.

The man, who had been crouching over Evie, looked up at George.

“What’s going on here is none of your business sir. I suggest you turn around and leave.”

George extended his hidden blade and placed it against the man’s throat. By simply putting a little pressure on the blade George was able to get the man to move away from Evie. The man was smart enough to realise that a blade in the throat typically led to a bad day. George stepped over Evie meaning that she was now safely behind him. As he stepped over her he heard running footsteps and a gasp of shock. He did not look round but he guessed that Jacob had arrived, which was soon confirmed when he heard Jacob say his twin’s name.

“I could do it.” George continued, “I could put this blade through your throat.”

“You wouldn’t dare. You don’t have the guts.”

“I can assure you that I do.” George replied, pressing the blade into the man’s throat just enough for a small bead of blood to escape. 

“As do I.” A new voice said.

The men, apart from the one at the end of George’s blade, turned to face the newcomer. Behind the group stood Ethan Frye, wearing a rather frightening expression. He had his own kurki in his hand but he was aiming his pistol at the group. The men in the group looked concerned, they knew that here stood a man who was not to be messed with. A simple movement of the eye told George what to do, he withdrew the blade from the man’s throat as Ethan advanced. The gun in Ethan’s hand was pointing at the man George had just released.

“You will stay away from my daughter.” He growled, “If I ever hear that you’ve been within fifty feet of her then I will end your life myself.”

There was a slight pause as the man seemed to consider whether Ethan was serious or not but soon decided that here stood a man not to be crossed. He motioned to his fellows to leave, glaring at Ethan as they past.

As soon as the men were out of sight Ethan spun round and glared down at his son. Jacob held his father’s gaze and prepared himself for the onslaught of words.

“What the hell is going on Jacob?”

“I don’t know Father, I have no idea who those people were.”

Ethan scoffed, “Don’t lie to me boy, I know you have had something to do with it.”

Jacob gave his father an incredulous look, was he really trying to pin this on him? How was this his fault? He was angry with these men as much as his father was, and he was going to track them down as soon as he could. He stood up, glaring at his father, he was losing his cool.

“Look I don’t know anything about this Father. You can not try and pin this on me like you always do. Perhaps rather then yelling at me you should be spending your time trying to find out why these thugs went after Evie. Maybe start at the fight…”

Jacob trailed off, now he had really put his foot in it. There was no way that his father would have missed that. A tense silence that feel between them as Ethan glared at his son and the latter glared back. Out of the corner of Jacob’s eye he saw George kneel beside his sister.

“What fight club Jacob?”

Deciding it was better not to lie to his father at this point Jacob explained. He spoke out the fight club he’d been to and how Evie had been coming along to protect him. He also mentioned Will Curtis but this seemed to make his father even more anger. It was clear from the tone that Ethan was trying not to lose control of his temper.

“Please tell me that this is a lie.”

“Wow, the one time you actually want me to lie. Well I’m sorry father but I have met him. I’ve beaten him in a fight.”

Ethan put a hand to his face, “Jacob you have do so many dumb things these last weeks but this is perhaps the worst. I have tried to teach you about the creed and you constantly choose to ignore my lessons.”

Jacob frowned, slightly confused, “Father he is just some punk from town.”

 

Ethan looked as though he was about to lose what little control he had left over his temper. He rubbed his hands over his face while Jacob just stared at him. There was obviously something he’d missed and, not for the first time, he wished he knew what was going on.

“They’re Templars Jacob.” A weak voice said.

Jacob looked down at his sister. She was being propped up by George, she looked pale but alert. There was a graze on her right temple from where she’d hit the floor which was bleeding. There was also a long, deep cut along the palm of her right hand. It looked as though she’d tried to deflect a blow from a knife but it had cut deep into the palm of her hand. Jacob did not know what to say, how could he have been so blind.

“That’s why I came out.” Evie continued, “I was trying to find you.”

Ethan rounded on Jacob, “How could you be so stupid? When are you going to learn?”

Jacob finally lost his temper, “Oh I am sorry. Sorry I am just a bloody disappointment to you. Why don’t I just accept everything is my fault. I am sorry that I am such a disappointment to you but it is the way it is.”

Ethan opened his mouth to speak but George cut across him.

“Ethan. Here is not the place for this. We need to get them both home.”

“I can’t go home.” Jacob cut in, “I have to find Robert. He was caught by Curtis, I have to find him.”

“No, you will come home now and not leave my sight.” Ethan growled, grabbing Jacob by the upper arm and pulling him up and off the street.

 George looked down at Evie, who was wearing a pained expression. He helped her up on to her feet and supported her up the street. But they only got half way up the street before George swept Evie up into his arms, she was suffering from a mixture of shock and exhaustion which was making walking difficult. As he carried her he noticed her eyelids flicking, she was obviously trying hard to stop herself falling asleep from exhaustion. As they approached the house George could hear that Ethan had resumed his shouting at Jacob. The shouting was deafening, made even worse when they entered the house. It was almost as though Ethan was standing right next to them. He could not help but feel sorry for Jacob. Sighing he knew there was no point in trying to stop Ethan, he wasn’t going to stop until he'd said, or rather shouted, everything he needed to. Turning away from the the noise he carried Evie in to her room where he began to tend to her wounds. It was going to be a very long night.

* * *

The bedroom was dim and quiet, the morning sun had not yet risen. Jacob was lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He was lost in thought. His ears were still ringing after having to enduring hours of lectures from his father.  To say that his father had gone mental was putting it nicely, he had completely lost it. If he really strained to listen he could hear his father and George discussing the night's events. Letting out a sigh, his gaze travelled to look at the other person in the room. Beside him his sister was asleep, or seemed to be asleep he couldn’t be sure. For the most part she was fine, no permeant damage. But she has still not said exactly what those men had wanted from her. He had a suspicion but hoped it was false. Jacob rolled over to face his twin, apart from having to endure lectures from his father. He was currently stressing over where Robert could be. He had left Robert to come to his twin’s aid which meant he had no idea where he could be now. He knew that there was no point trying to sneak out now to go out to find him, his father was watching the doors like a hawk. Jacob sighed, there was nothing he could do now. If he tried to leave the house then who knew what his father might do. He also couldn't leave Evie, she needed him and he had to ensure she was alright. But what about Robert? He couldn't abandon him but what else could he do. He was suddenly brought out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his. His sister had put her left hand on his and gave him a small, weak smile. She must have known he was troubled, it must have been clear on his face. Evie was sharp, she did not miss a thing. Jacob returned the smile and held her hand, rubbing her palm gently as they both tried to settle themselves off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

The midmorning sun was high in the sky, casting it’s warm rays across Crawley. The warmth of the sun was accompanied by the slight breeze making the weather rather pleasant. But one household was not enjoying the warm weather. The mood in the Frye household was tense, it was almost possible to cut the tension with a knife. One member of the house had moved into the garden to escape the atmosphere. Jacob strolled across the front garden and climbed up onto the outhouse which sat right next to the stone fence which defined what landed belonged to the house. Once settled on top he just gazed out across the town. He was struggling to decide what to do, it was only a few hours since he’d seen Robert being dragged off by Curtis and his gang. Jacob still did not know where he was and was unable to go out to find him. His father was watching his every move, but if he was clever then perhaps he might be able to slip away. A sudden, familiar voice snapped out of his thoughts.

“Jacob? What are you doing?”

Looking down he gazed up his twin, who was looking at him with a concern expression. For the most part she was alright. The only really injuries she had was the deep cut to her hand, which has been bandaged, and the cut to the side of her head. Apart from those injuries she’d escaped her ordeal with just a few bruises. Jacob took in her appearance, he could see that she’d not been awake long, she not even bothered to tie her hair back.

“You should be inside Evie.” He said, “You need to recover from last night.”

Evie groaned and gave him a look, “I’m fine Jacob.”

He could see by that look that she was being serious but that statement, although being her twin brother he knew for a fact that she was not 'fine'. It was apparent by the look in her eye, he could see that she was distressed by what had happened but she was refusing to admit that. Evie approached the outhouse and climbed, which provided difficult as she could not use her right hand. Reaching down Jacob grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her up. He was still watching her, he was determined to find out the cause of her distress but waited until she was settled before asking.

“Evie, I’m your brother, I know that you are not ok. You haven’t told anyone what those guys wanted. Why did they come after you?”

“Look, it’s fine. I’m fine, so can we just drop it?”  Evie snapped, glaring at her brother.

Silence fell between them for a moment. Jacob was looking at her trying to read what see was thinking whereas Evie had looked away. Her gazed had locked on the church spire in the distance. She regretted saying that, but she did not what to relive the events of the previous night. Just thinking about what those men had wanted to do made her skin crawl. After a few long minutes, Evie spoke again.

“I’m sorry.” She said, quietly, “I just don’t want to talk about it. I’d rather forget the whole thing.”

“I’m the one who should be sorry. I started all this, if I had never gone to the fight club those thugs would never had found you and I’d know where Robert was.” Jacob said, looking down at his hands. “We were running away from Curtis last night when George found me. We’d split up to get away from them but when George found me I saw that Robert had been captured by Curtis and his gang. I have to find him Evie, he’s my best friend.”

Evie observed the look on her twin’s face, she knew that Robert was his best friend. She also knew that Jacob would never forgive himself if he did not find out where Robert was. There was no way that their Father would let either of them out of the house, but perhaps she could give Jacob time to sneak out.

“I can distract Father if you want to go find him.” Evie said, when Jacob met her gaze she continued, “I can’t say exactly how long but I will do my best.”

“But how?”

Evie simply pointed at her injured hand and he could guess what she meant.

“No. No Evie, you can’t hurt yourself further just to help me.”

“She won’t need to.” A new voice said. “I don’t need your help.”

 

Jacob snapped his attention to the newcomer, recognising the voice. A metre or so from the outhouse stood Robert. He was covered in blood from various cuts located all over his body. There were a few deep cuts to his face, the deepest seemed to be located over his left eye. Jacob leapt down from the outhouse and stepped towards Robert, who took a step back.

“Robert, what happened?”

“What does it look like?” Robert spat, “Curtis used me as a knife sharpener, something he was planning to do to you when you came to get me. But you didn’t, did you? Obviously, your sister was more important.” Robert shot Evie a dark look. 

“I was going to come and get you, my father stopped me.” Jacob said, stepping towards Robert.

“Save it Jacob. You are no friend of mine. A real friend would have saved his friend. From what I hear your sister had two people coming to save her and I had no one. I had to escape on my own, after having to endure hours of torment.”

“What are you saying?”

Robert limped over to Jacob, glaring at him, “I’m saying that you are dead to me. You have shown me that you are not friend of mine. In short Jacob you are dead to me, you better hope that you do not cross paths with me again as I will kill you. And, I hope your sister does not cross me either as I will kill her too. Although I very much hope she dies from her wounds.” Robert paused, glaring at the younger Frye twin, “I hope you rot.”

Without another word Robert turned and limped away. Jacob was about to walk after him but stopped himself. There was little point in perusing Robert now, it was possible that he might be serious in his threats. Perhaps if he gave Robert time to cool off then they’d be able to put this behind them. Letting out a sigh Jacob rubbed his face, this was all such a mess. He really did not know what to do. A hand rested on his shoulder, he glanced over to see Evie standing there.

“I’m sorry Jacob this is my fault.”

Jacob shook his head, “No this is not your fault. It’s mine. All of this was my fault.”

It was Evie’s turn to shake her head. She made to say something but Jacob stopped her.

“There’s nothing you can say Evie, I know that you are trying to help. I just… think I need to be alone.”

Shoving his hands in his pockets Jacob turned and walked away, leaving his twin gazing after him with a very concerned expression. She took a deep breath and walked back towards the house. She did not know what was going to happen now. What if Robert came back and acted on this word? Only time would tell.

 

Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months and months became years. Never once in the years that past did Jacob ever come back into contact with Robert. He seemed to have vanished from Crawley and where his current location was nobody knew. That seemed to suit both parties, as on reflection Jacob knew that Robert had been deadly serious on his word. Although Jacob had never pursued Robert he did feel a rather odd feeling, Robert had been his best friend. But that was the past it was time to look to the future.

* * *

Jacob walked along a darkened street, lost in thought. He was not really aware of where his feet were taking him. He just allowed them to take him to wherever his destination was. As he went further along the street he realised that he was being followed. A dark figure was a fair way behind him but there was something about that man which did not seem right. With a subtle glance over his shoulder he was able to work out for sure whether the figure was following him. Being as he was never one to back away from a fight. Jacob turned and faced the figure heading towards him. Turning Jacob found that the figure, which turned out to be a man, had stopped.

“I’ve seen you following me.” Jacob called, “Now, what kind of a coward would tail someone rather than confronting him.”

“An old friend.” The man replied, moving closer to Jacob.

As the man got closer Jacob recognised the familiar feature of a man he had not seen for years. Robert stepped towards Jacob.

“Robert?” Jacob asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Fulfilling that promise I made years ago.” Robert raised his gun and aimed it at Jacob’s chest, “I told you if I ever crossed paths with you again I would kill you.”

“I find that you are the one who crossed my path.”

Robert’s finger tensed on the trigger. He glared at Jacob while the latter just simply looked back, with perhaps a slight smirk on his face. He could not hold back any longer, he had wanted to do this for years and now it was finally time. As Jacob opened his mouth to speak he pulled the trigger. There was a loud bang as the bullet burst from the end of the pistol. The bullet buried itself into Jacob’s chest before he could do anything. Time seemed to slow right down and in slow motion he fell. Jacob fell to the floor as a startled gasp escaped his lips. Blood poured from his chest and his left hand moved to attempt to stop the flow of blood. But judging by how rapidly the blood was escaped he knew there was no hope for him. Footsteps approached, standing above him was Robert who was wearing a smirk on his face.

“One down. One to go.” Robert sneered.

Robert walked away leaving Jacob bleeding on the floor. He tried his best to sit up or even move but his body did not respond. The darkness was tugging at him, trying desperately to pull him under but he had to prevent it. Evie, he had to get to her. He had to warn her. But he was powerless to do anything. The darkness was becoming too strong. Jacob’s eyelids began to flutter and he used all his strength to keep his eyes open. Was this his end? No it could not be. This was not how his life would end. Or was it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh! Cliffhanger!
> 
> Apologises for the delay! I'm having issues accessing AO3 from a certain internet provider which is rather annoying.   
> I'm working on uploading this to Fanfiction.net so if anyone you guys are having the same issue you can find it there!   
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I shall see you next time!!


	8. Chapter 8

Jacob sat bolt upright letting out a yell of fright. His breath came in pants and he could feel sweat pouring down his forehead. As he tried to calm his breathing he looked round. The carriage was quiet, no one but him currently inhabited it. He was sat on the sofa across from the wall of Assassinations where the various pictures of Templars in London had a red cross across them. To the left of that was Angus’s desk where there were various pieces of paper scattered across it as well as an abandoned tea cup, its contents half drunk. The carriage was dark, it was the middle of the night. The only sounds he could currently hear were the voices of the Rooks in the next carriage. It was fine, everything was as it was supposed to be. It was a dream, it had all been a dream. But what if it hadn’t been what if it was all true and he simply forgotten. _Evie_. Where was Evie? He staggered to his feet, unbeknownst to him he was trembling. He took a few steps towards to the door leading to the next carriage, which his sister inhabited, when it opened revealing his twin sister. It appeared that she’d only just returned to the train, judging by her appearance. It also seemed to be raining outside as she had her hood raised and was soaking wet. She stepped quietly into the carriage but seemed to almost jump in surprise at seeing her brother awake.

“Oh Jacob, you startled me. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to –“

“Evie?” Jacob said, he was still panting slightly, “You’re ok.”

Evie looked at him, a confused expression on her face, “Yes I’m fine. What… Are you ok?”

She gazed at her brother taking in his appearance. He was dripping in sweat and seemed to be panting. The way his clothes were twisted and creased suggested he’d been woken by a dream.

“Jacob, are you ok?” She repeated, moving closer to him.

Jacob took a deep steading breath, “Yes. I’m fine.”

Evie frowned, she was not buying it. She took his hand and led him into her carriage where she steered him into the armchair by the fireplace. The two did not exchange words as Evie lit the fire and Jacob regained control of his breath. It was only when Evie handed her brother a hot cup of tea and settled herself on the edge of the bed that the silence was broken.

“I’m fine Evie. It was just a dream.” Jacob said, taking a sip of tea.

“Dream? More like nightmare judging by your appearance. What happened?”

“Evie…” 

“What happened?” Evie insisted.

For a moment Jacob just looked at her, she was looking at him with such concern. It was just like his twin to be more concerned about him then about herself. She was still in her wet clothes, which was dripping rainwater onto the sheets and the floor. She did not seem remotely bothered by that, she was more concerned abut him. Of course Jacob was more concerned about her then he was about his nightmare. She’d catch a cold if she did not get out of those wet clothes. Looking at her, Jacob toyed over what to do. He really did not want to relive that nightmare, it was like a raw wound at the moment and he refused to show that something had scared him.

“You should sort yourself out Evie, you’ll catch a cold if you stay in those wet clothes.”

“We’re not talking about me, we’re taking about you.”

 

Jacob sighed, she was not going to back down until he told her. So he explained to her about the dream, told her everything that had happened. As he did her expression changed, it became one that Jacob could not name. He had no idea what she was thinking. The question now was how was what was she thinking and how was she going to respond.

“Why would you dream of Robert now? After all this time… it’s been five years.” Evie said, eventually.

Jacob shook his head, “I don’t know, I’ve not thought of him and what happened for a while.”

Evie placed her tea cup down and crossed her arms, thinking. There was no logical reason as to why Jacob would be thinking about all that now. Silence fell again, as Evie tried to figure out an answer and Jacob was distracted by the flickering of the fire.

“Oh let’s not even think about it anymore.” Jacob said suddenly, “Let the past be the past. Now what happened about that Templar you’re tracking.”

Evie sighed, “I’m close to finding him. I have a possible lead on where to find him, its only a matter of time before I find him.”

After the death of Crawford Starrick the Templars had made various attempts to re-establish themselves in London. These attempts were also very small, they’d try to take over a warehouse or even a fight club to try and gain supporters but these attempts had failed. The Templars could not be faulted on their stubbornness, their refusal to give in. There could be no driving the Templars from London completely but they could stop them from getting any power. Letting out a short breath Jacob got to his feet.

“You'll find him, you always do. But that's enough of Templars and dear old friends for one day. I’m going back to bed.”

He headed for a door, as he reached for the door handle he heard his sister call to him. He stopped and looked at her. Evie approached him and pulled him into an embrace. Jacob shared a small smile as he returned the hug. Although when he pulled away he decided to mess with her slightly.

“What was that for?” He asked.

“Just seemed like you needed it.”

Jacob smirked at her, “Next time, bring me beer rather than sentimental displays of affection.”

Rather then looking affronted, which he had expected, Evie just gave him an unimpressed look.

“What?” Jacob said, “Not going to tell me that that’s insulting.”

Evie laughed, “No. If you’d choose a different insult rather then using the same one over and over again then perhaps I would be,”

Jacob snorted in amusement and gave his sister a playful shove before leaving the room. Evie watched him go, with a fond expression on her face. She still could not understand why he would be dreaming of Robert after all this time. Maybe it was nothing, or perhaps it meant something. But now was not the time to reflect on that. Now it was time to sleep and prepare for the coming day.

* * *

The train emitted a deafening whistle as it pulled into the station. The train was full of people coming to London, some for the first time and others for perhaps the hundredth time. A young man perhaps no more then twenty years old sat alone in one of many compartments of the train. For the moment he had his nose in a book, but having just heard the conductor calling that they were coming into London Victoria he put the book down. Turning his attention to the window he watched as the London skyline came into view. He’d not ventured into London before in his life and therefore had no idea what to expect. He’d heard that London was always on the go and there was never a dull day but until he had experienced it himself he would not draw any conclusions. A matter of minutes later the train slid into the station and people began filing off the train. The man got to his feet and stepped off the train. The station was full of various people all trying to get to their intended destination. Upon exiting the station the man stopped, taking in the sight. The mid morning sun was casting its rays down on the streets, warming the people on the street. Hooves clattered as carriages trundled up and down the street. There were so many, more then he had expected. For a while he just stood there taking in the scene. But soon his attention was drawn to someone walking along the street opposite him. The man had not since this person for a few years but he instantly recognised her, although part of his plan had been to track her down he had not expected to see her so soon. The man watched the women walked further down the street before he starting to follow her. But he was sure to keep a fairly large distance as he knew that she might pick up on his presence if he got to close. Although he had not expected his mission to begin so soon, Robert could not and would not delay. The opportunity had arrived and there was no way he was not going to take it. The time had come. 


	9. Chapter 9

Not far from Victoria station there was a huge construction site. The earth had been dug up leaving a rather enormous hole in the ground where giant wooden scaffolding surrounded it preventing cave-ins and allowing the workers to reach certain areas. As far as Evie was aware the construction was for the new underground railways but she’d been lying if she claimed to know more about it than that. Trains running underground was not really something that grabbed her interest. Although Jacob seemed to think it would make travelling to assassinations easier but then he’d questioned whether the sight of Assassin sat on the underground would arouse suspicion. He gone on to say that he’d most likely end up losing his ticket and arguing with the ticket collectors. Evie had to smile as she remembered Jacob saying that the excuse of why a Templar had not been eliminated being ‘ _…I lost my ticket and they wouldn’t let me on the train.’_ probably wouldn’t go down well. Bringing her attention back to what she was supposed to be doing she climbed up the nearest scaffolding. Upon reaching the top she crouched down, gazing at the hundreds of people. Somewhere in that crowd of people was the man she was looking at, now all she could do was wait.

 Unbeknownst to her, a matter of metres away from her stood an old friend of her brother’s. Robert was not even looking at what was happening below, he was watching the women crouching on top of the scaffolding. He was a fair distance away from her and had made sure that he was not standing in her eye line. The last thing he needed was for her to spot him, it would ruin everything. Leaning against the nearby post Robert reviewed his plan whilst never taking his eyes of Evie Frye. His plan was a simple one, he was going to kill Jacob and get revenge for what he did to him all those years ago. But it would be too straight forward to just kill him, where was the fun in that. As there was no way either Jacob or Evie would let him near them, he’d burnt his bridges with them and they would, quietly rightly, be weary of his presence. Which meant that the only way he would be able to kill Jacob in a way which would satisfy his desire for revenge would be to first re-gain Jacob’s trust. The way to do that was to rescue Evie. Of course, he had to hurt her first that way he would look like a hero coming to save her. That would satisfy him as she was the whole reason this feud had started in the first place. His hand touched his face, he touched the scar over his left eye. A lasting reminder of what had happened to him. Evie was responsible for this, it was all her fault. Jacob had to die, but he had other plans for Evie. A movement brought him out of his thoughts.  Evie had stood up and jumped from the scaffold to another one with a surprising amount of ease. Robert had to admit he was surprised by that, he knew that Jacob had had the ability to do things like that but he had no idea that Evie possessed them too. The Frye Twins continued to be a mystery to him. Robert moved to keep Evie in sight, it was time to stop thinking and act. But the question was how to do it. Evie seemed to have settled herself on top of the scaffold and it did not appear that she was going to move any time soon. Robert scanned the nearby area, there had to be something he could use. His eyes were drawn to a pile of crates stacked at the base of the scaffold where Evie was currently perched. From this distance, he could not see exactly what it was but he had an idea.

 As he approached the crates he made sure to move carefully, it would ruin his plans to be discovered now. Robert smirked as he reached the boxes, dynamite. Perfect. A quick glance around showed him that no one was near enough to spot him. Taking matches from his pocket he lit one and dropped it into one of the boxes. Turning he sprinted away to take cover by the nearest building. He got there with seconds to spare. A deafening bang rung out, it was so loud that Robert had to cover his ears. Turning to see the chaos he had caused. His eyes were drawn to the scaffold where Evie had been. It had been blown apart and he could see her. She was falling straight down to the ground. He didn’t see her hit the floor and perhaps that was a good thing, the blast had been slightly more powerful then he’d first expected. Screams rang out along with crackling of fire. Some people were running towards the site, including policemen and people dressed in green shirts. Whilst others, those who’d been caught in the blast, ran from the site, determined to put as much distance between them and the site as possible. Robert worked his way through the terrified public back towards the building site. The site was now in ruins, almost all of the wooden building structures had been destroyed and the tunnel that had been being dug was completely buried under earth and debris. Various people was lying among the debris, some moving some not. The policemen were rushing around trying to aid the injured.

 Robert’s eyes were drawn to Evie, she was lying face down on the ground. He watched her for a moment as it did not appear as though she was moving. It had not been his intention to kill her but that blast had been much more powerful then he’d been expecting and she'd fallen quite a distance. Maybe she was dead. Shrugging he moved towards her, he didn’t care if she’d died his plan would still be in motion. He’d bring her body back to Jacob and regain his trust that way. But o his surprise as he moved closer he saw a movement from Evie. Her hand twitched and she slowly moved to try and push herself up. Robert hurried over wondering how in the hell she’d survived that. Evie had pushed herself on to her elbows when Robert reached her, but her head was bowed so he was unable to see her face.

“Evie? Evie! Are you alright?” Robert said, adopting a fake concerned expression.

He crouched next to her, putting a hand to her shoulder and she looked up at him. There was blood clinging to right side of her face, originating from a cut to her temple. But apart from that she looked, remarkably, unharmed. Her eyes met Robert’s and he could see confusion enter them.

“What…” Was the only word she seemed to be able to get out at the moment.

Robert smiled, “I know long time no see, right?”

Evie pushed herself into a sitting position, putting a hand to her temple. As much as Robert wanted to smirk he had to keep his facade up.

“Here, let me look at that.” Robert said.

He put out a hand to examine the cut to her temple, but Evie batted away his hand. She was eying him, still frowning.

“What are you doing here?” She said, finally.

“There’ll be time for that later, first we need to get you check out.”

Robert held out his hand to help Evie up but she refused to take it. Standing Robert watched as Evie gathered the strength to stand upright. As she did she stumbled, almost falling but another person came running over and grabbed her before she could fall.

“Evie!” The new voice said, “You alright?”

Robert looked at the newcomer, once again he wanted to smirk. Standing behind Evie wearing a top hat and black over coat was Jacob Frye. He hadn’t changed much in five years, just matured. He didn’t seemed to have noticed Robert, once again he was more concerned about his precious sister. But soon enough Jacob’s attention was drawn to Robert. He looked up to thank the person who’d helped Evie but his mouth fell open in shock. Robert had matured with age but the scars to his face stood out like a beacon. Especially the one over his left eye. Keeping a firm grasp on his sister Jacob addressed his once friend.

“Robert?”

“Jacob.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Jacob asked, frowning.

Robert crossed his arms, “Saving your sister. Your welcome, by the way.”

Jacob seemed to consider him for a moment, it was clear from his expression that Jacob was pondering whether to believe him. Behind Jacob a couple of men dressed in green shirts had run over. Who these people were Robert did not know, but as Jacob and Evie made no move against them Robert assumed them to be allies. As Jacob continued to consider Robert, Evie let go over him and stumbled slightly over to the men in green, who then escorted her away.

“The last time we saw each other Robert, you promised to kill me.” Jacob said, finally.

“Oh come on Jacob that was years ago. Things change, I’ve changed.”

Jacob narrowed his eyes, “You seemed quite serious about your promise. You threatened me and Evie, how am I to believe that you’ve changed.”

Robert opened his mouth to speak when another voice called out.

“Boss!”

Jacob looked over at the Rook that had called him, the Rook was motioning him to follow. Assuming that it was something to do with his sister Jacob nodded.

“Look, now is not the place to discuss this.” Jacob said, “Meet me tonight at Whitechapel Station, we’ll talk about it then.”

Without another word Jacob walked away following the Rook. Robert watched him go and finally allowed the smirk to appear on his face. So far so good, everything was going to plan. He had expected Jacob to be weary of him, now all there was to do was ensure that the meeting tonight ended with Jacob trusting him. That would be easy, Jacob was so thick he’d never know that he was being lied to. Robert continued to smirk as he left the ruined building site, ignoring the shouts and screamed. What did he care? His plan was coming together and soon he would have his revenge.


	10. Chapter 10

Night had fallen and with it came a rather cold breeze which swept through London. Many of the inhabitants pulled at their coats in an attempt to keep themselves warm as they hurried to their destination. Others were not as fortunate to be able to process a coat, they huddled together in a desperate attempt to stay warm. Some huddled round small fires they'd built as they to tried to survive the night. Although night had fallen London had not gone to bed, trains whistled loudly as they trundled up and down the rails. The clattering of hooves rang out along the streets as horses pulled various carriages, and amidst the sound of hooves where the shouts of rich men upon the discovery that their wallets had somehow vanished. A tall man with dark hair and a long dark overcoat strolled up the street towards Whitechapel Station. With his hands shoved deep into his pockets, Robert was lost in thought. It had been hours since he'd seen the Frye Twins, he had no idea where they currently where but he'd found that out soon enough. Descending the steps into the station he looked around, trying to find the person he'd agreed to meet. Jacob had not said a time for this meeting but Robert was sure that he'd be waiting for him. The question now was where was he? The station was not bustling with people but there was a fair amount of people standing on the platforms. A train stood at each platform seemingly waiting for passengers, one of which was rather long and the other was half the size of the previous. Strolling up and down the platform, Robert was unable to find Jacob, he did not seem to be here. But what did this mean? Was he not coming? Had he been deceived by Jacob? The only way he'd find that out was to wait. Settling himself on a nearby bench he waited, only time would tell if Jacob would keep his word.

 

He could see him. He shown up as Jacob knew he would, Robert always kept his word. He was looking out of window of the train and watched as Robert took a seat on one of the benches. For a moment Jacob just stood there, he could not figure out why Robert was here. Robert had vowed to kill both himself and Evie so why all of sudden would he have changed his view on them. Well, there was only one way to find out. Moving away from the window he poked his head round the curtain. Evie was sleeping soundly in her bed, the covers were wrapped around her. It was almost like they were shielding her from the outside world. She been quite lucky to escape that blast with just a concussion, others had died and more were severely injured. As he watched Evie let out a deep breath and moved ever so slightly in her sleep. Jacob smiled slightly before exiting the carriage and jumping from the train onto the platform. Nodding at the train driver, he watched as the train slowly pulled out of the station. The last thing he wanted was for his twin to be anywhere near Robert, he didn't trust him. As the last carriage pulled out of the station Jacob and Robert’s gazes met. For a moment the pair just stared at each other from opposite sides of the station.

After a minute or so Jacob made his way across the railway tracks and approached Robert, who was still sat on the bench.

“You're late.” Robert stated, “But then again you are very good at turning up late.”

“I arrive when I need to, no sooner no later.” Jacob replied, folding his arms.

Robert smiled, “You haven't changed.”

Jacob didn't answer, he wasn't really sure how to respond. He eyed his once friend, he had to figure out what he was really doing here.

“So how's Evie? I bet she’s probably-“

“What are you doing here Robert?” Jacob interrupted.

“I told you earlier, times have changed.”

“And I said earlier that that is somehow hard to believe after you threatened us.”

Robert stared at Jacob for a moment, this was going to be much harder then he had anticipated. Jacob was not the gullible moron he used to be. There had to be some way to win Jacob round but he just had to find it.

“Jacob, let the past be the past. I was not in the right frame of mind when I said that, how could I be after being tortured by that arsehole.”

Jacob seemed to be considering him, pondering on whether or not he was being sincere.

“Look, I don’t want to fight Jacob. Before all that we were friends, can we not get back to that? Knowing you, you will have found the best pubs in London, lets find a pub and drink the night away just like we used to.”

It was clear from the look on Jacob's face that he was considering the idea. But to his surprise Jacob shook his head.

 

“Too much has changed Robert, how do I know that you’re not going to stab in the back the moment I have a drink inside me?”

Robert stood up and threw his hands up into the air, “For goodness sake Jacob why will you not just believe me? All I want is to have a drink with my old friend and leave the past in the past. What is dangerous about that?”

Jacob glanced in the direction the train had taken, it was out of sight. Evie was safe. So, perhaps he could agree and cautiously see if Robert was sincere about wanting to leave the past in the past.

“One drink.” Jacob said.

Robert nodded, “One.”

Jacob hesitated ever so slightly before leading the way out of the station. Together they walked back down the main road and towards The Cauldron. The Cauldron was perhaps not the most hygienic or the most aesthetically pleasing of London pubs, but it was the closest one to the station and Jacob was not prepared to go any further then necessary to have a drink. There was also the fact that the Rooks had taken a liking to this particular pub which meant should things go wrong help would be at hand. While Robert took a table near to the window, Jacob made his way to the bar siding stepping a drunk as he went. Whilst the bartender drew up the two pints he’d ordered, Jacob took a glance back at his old friend. He had a suspicion that if his twin knew what he was up to right now she would not be impressed. But Jacob wasn’t fifteen years old anymore, he knew how to defend himself. There was a clunk behind him as the bartender placed the two pints on the bar. Fishing money from his inside jacket pocket and passing it to the bartender, Jacob made his way to the table where Robert was waiting. Nodding in thanks to Jacob, Robert took one of the two pints and raised it.

“What should we toast to?”

Jacob ignored him and took a swig of his beer. He subtly gazed at Robert as the latter took a sip of the beer. He could not help but question was in the world he was here. But something had intrigued him to come. Perhaps it was the mere fact that Robert had been his best friend for years and part of him could not deny that it was nice to be in his company again. Also, Robert had had a point. Even if he was not sincere about making peace, it was only one drink. 

A few minutes past in a tense silence between the once friends, whilst one was unsure what, if anything to say, to say the other was silently rejoicing. Everything was going to plan. Robert knew that now he had Jacob. Now it was take to take the plan to the next level. His plan involved killing Jacob but their was someone else in London that needed to be dealt with. Not Evie. No, she was taken care of. She would get what was coming to her. The person who also needed to be dealt with was the same person was responsible for his permanent injuries. The person that Jacob had failed to save him from.

“Jacob,” Robert started, “I came to London for two reasons. One reason you know, that was to make peace between us. There other was to find someone.”

Jacob frowned, “Who?”

“You know who he is, he is the one we were running from that night. The person who caused my injuries.”

Jacob’s eyes widened, “Will Curtis? He’s in London?”

“He has been for some weeks.” Robert nodded. “After that night I left Crawley and went down south but I knew I wanted revenge on Curtis. But when I finally came back to Crawley I couldn’t find him, from what I found out from the locals back home he’d come to London on some business.”

A look crossed Jacob’s face, one which Robert could not quite place.

“I need your help Jacob. I have to find him, he needs to pay for what he did.”

Jacob gazed at Robert, was any of what he was saying true. If it were then Jacob would certainly pay him a visit, not only was Will Curtis responsible for what happened to Robert he was also a Templar, and who knew what he was planning for London. By helping Robert it would give him the chance to assess whether he was being sincere about not wanting to kill both him and his sister. He’d be able to assess this without Robert’s suspecting so he could see no reason why he should not help him.

“You’re right.” Jacob said, “He does need to pay. He needs to be dealt with.”

Robert sneered, “Then shall we?”

For a moment Jacob was taken aback, that phrase was something he and his sister said. He could not name the emotion but there was something about Robert saying it which made him uneasy. But he composed himself and nodded.

“Let’s do it.”


	11. Chapter 11

One day her brother would learn, one day he would learn that he could not hide anything from her. Perched on a wooden ledge Evie looked down into the notorious Devil’s Acre. It was a bustle with people, but these where no the typical people who wondered round Westminster. Devil’s Acre was notoriously popular with criminals as the police would not enter so they could run riot with no one to stop them. Despite the criminal activity, Devil’s Acre was controlled by the Rooks, the control had given some stability to it but it hadn’t stopped all the antics that occurred there. Perhaps the Rooks could stop all the crimes but they seemed more concerned about spending their time in the pub based in the Acre rather than helping the poor who had no choice but to live there. From her perch Evie had a clear view of the pub, she could clearly see her brother. Being that it was the middle of the night Jacob would not be able to see where she had perched, she was completely concealed by the darkness. Although she had pulled up her hood and was using the skill she’d processed which meant by staying completely still people would just fail to spot her should they look up at the perch. As she watched, Evie saw another man join Jacob at the table however she could not quite believe who her twin was having a drink with. The last person she had expected was the man who had threatened to kill both of them. Evie narrowed her eyes as the pair clinked their glasses and downed their respective beers. She had known that Jacob was up to something, he’d been acting funny ever since that blast in Westminster. That had been only a matter of days ago and the authorities still were unsure how it had happened. But Evie could not help but think that perhaps there was a link between the blast and Robert’s reappearance. Then again, maybe she was just being paranoid and thinking the worst. The last thing she wanted to do was go around making accusations when she could well be wrong. She gazed at her brother, why had he hidden this from her? Had he known that she wouldn’t be impressed? Well, she’d be lying to herself is she didn’t admit that she was most certainly not impressed in Jacob’s choice to reconcile the old friendship. Evie continued to watch as Jacob let out a roar of laughter, obviously Robert had said something funny. Enough. It was time to confront her brother about this. Although she could have leapt straight from her perch to the wall of the pub, she decided to make it appear as though she had just stumbled across the pair. The last thing she needed was Jacob to accuse her of spying. Jumping down from the perch and lowering her hood, Evie began to make her way into the Acre. Little did she know that a lot could happen in five minutes.

* * *

Jacob slammed his mug back on to the table with a loud bang and sprung out of his seat.

“See! I told you! I told you I could still out drink you.” Jacob cried.

Robert held his hands up, “Ok, I admit it you can still out drink me.”

“Ask any of my Rooks,” Jacob continued, “They will tell you that no one has been able to beat me at drinking.”

The Rooks behind Jacob nodded in agreement, before returning to their own drinks.

“No no, I believe you Jacob. You remain the drinking champion. You are the champion of this pub.”

Jacob grinned before yelling in the general direction of the bartender to more drinks. He fell back into his seat grinning at his old friend. Robert wasn’t looking, he was looking out over the Devil’s Acre. His attention was soon drawn to a rather nasty looking group of men who were heading towards the pub. From the looks on the men’s faces they were not here to make friends, they looked as though they were out to start a fight.

“Oi.” One of them called, “Who said you Rooks could come and take over our pub?”

Jacob stood up, “And who said that it was your pub in the first place.”

“Since we are the ones who actually live here whilst you lot run merrily back to your rich houses, I say that we own it.”

Jacob laughed, stepping forward, “You really think that? Well my friend I think that you are mistaken, this pub is for everyone not just you and not just us.”

“I don’t care if you think. This is our pub, get out of it or else?”

Jacob sniggered looking round at Robert and the group of Rooks, who were also sniggering. Turning back to the group he smirked at them, daring them to do something.

“Or else what?” Jacob stated, a confident look on his face.

With those words all hell broke loose, the men entering the pub grabbed anything they could get their hands on and launched it at Jacob and the Rooks. In retaliation Jacob and the Rooks launched themselves towards their aggressors and a fight broke out. The innocent ran for cover as the two groups fought. Glass, chairs and even tables went flying as the men used anything they could to beat back their opponents. Robert had managed to conceal himself behind the wall of the pub, he did not really want to be involved in the fight. This was not because he could not handle himself, he was more than capable of handling a fight, but he wanted the opportunity to observe Jacob in combat. If he was going to kill Jacob then he had to be able to know where Jacob’s weaknesses where then he could exploit them and kill him. He knew that Jacob was a capable fighter from all those years ago but seeing him fighting now was something else. Jacob’s skills in fighting had improved massively, there was something about the way he moved in combat which told Robert that this was where he was most comfortable. It also showed him that killing Jacob may not be as easy as he had first thought.

 

The fight didn’t last long, Jacob and the Rooks easily overpowered the thugs. The thugs skulked away whilst throwing insults and jeers at the Rooks. Robert was quick to re-join the group to make it seem as though he’d been involved. He moved over to Jacob and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Just like old times.” Robert said.

Jacob laughed and moved to pick up a fallen chair. As the Rooks poured at more drinks in celebration and Jacob pick up a chair or two, there came a voice. It was the same voice which had belonged to the group of thugs that had just attacked them. Jacob straightened up and turned towards the sound of the voice. It was clear that the owner of that voice was getting further away from them but it was what he said which caught Jacob’s attention.

“Oi Darling, why don’t you come with us and we’ll show you a good time.”

There was a pause but Jacob didn’t move, he was ready to spring into action if needed. After a moment, the voice spoke again.

“Oh, the strong silent type. I like that in a woman.” Another pause, “Alright darling, you win this round but next time things will be different.”  

A few moments later Jacob found out who the thugs had been shouting at. A very familiar person walked into view, she was looking back at the group of thugs so had not seen who was in the pub. But that would change very soon, meaning Jacob could end up in a lot of trouble.

“Uh oh,” Jacob said, his expression was similar to that of a startled rabbit.

Evie eyed the retreating thugs before looking towards the pub. She met her brother’s gaze before looking at the person next to him. Robert looked back at her taking in her appearance, he’d not seen her since the blast. The only thing which gave away that she been involved with the blast was the bruise on her right temple, in the centre of the bruise as a wound which had scabbed over.

“Evie,” Jacob said, rather nervously, “What are you doing here?”

It sounded as through Jacob was waiting to be lectured by a parent. When in actually fact that he’d not told his twin about his meetings with Robert so he was apprehensive about her reaction. After everything they had been through in London he did not want to fall out with her again. His sister was the most important person to him, he couldn’t lose her again.

“I came to find you.” Evie said, “What’s going on?”

Evie was eyeing Robert, her expression showed clear distrust. For a moment Jacob did not respond, he did not know exactly to say. Perhaps thankfully or perhaps unthankfully, Robert jumped in.

“What’s going on here? What’s going on here is that I’m having a drink with my old friend. Have you come to spoil our fun as usual?”

Evie folded her arms, ignoring the insult, “You threatened to kill us last time we saw you.”

“Well I have changed Evie, people change.”

Evie frowned looking between her brother and Robert. Jacob was looking rather sheepish whereas Robert was staring at her with a such confidence. There was something in the look Robert was giving her, something which told her he was hiding something.

 

The icy exchange was broken as Jacob hurried over to his twin and led her away from the group so they would not be overheard.

“I’m sorry.” He said, “I know I should have told you about this. I just did not what to say.”

“Don’t you remember what he said to you. He meant it Jacob and I find it really difficult to believe he has suddenly gone back on his word.” Evie replied.

Jacob hung his head, “I know but… he’s my best friend and people do change in time, I mean look at us.. we changed.”

Evie looked away, she was eyeing Robert. Although she had been watching the pair secretly for a while, now that she had decided to confront her brother she found that words failed her. She was not sure what to say and was cautious about saying anything which could upset her twin.

“I don’t trust him Jacob, how can we believe anything he says?” She said, eventually.

“Trust me then. I will know if he’s lying and if he is then… just trust me.”

“But why are you with him? There must be more to him coming to London then this story him being a changed man.”

Jacob quickly explained about Robert’s desire to get revenge on Will Curtis over what happened all those years ago. As he expected Evie still looked unconvinced, bringing her round to the idea of Robert wasn’t going to be easy. She didn’t trust people easily and she had every right be that way. Evie didn’t respond for a moment, her gaze had flicked over to Robert.

“I’ll speak to Henry about this when I return to the train.” She said, eventually, “He might know if there is any truth to this. Until then –“

“Be careful…” Jacob interrupted, “I know Evie. I’m always careful.”

Evie gave him a look which clearly showed that she thought that last statement was complete rubbish, but she said nothing. She made to walk away but Jacob grabbed her arm, preventing her from leaving.

“Are you ok? I heard what those men were shouting at you.”

Evie smiled slightly, “It’s fine Jacob. I’m never going to let myself be put into that position again.”

Without another word Evie slipped from view, Jacob watched her go before rejoining Robert and the Rooks at the pub. He accepted a drink from Robert, missing the slight smirk on the latter’s face, and took a swig from it. He was at a loss of what to do, whatever he chose to do he could well run the risk of damaging his relationship with the other person. A glass banging on the table pulled Jacob from his thoughts, Robert had downed his drink in one, which earnt him cheers from the surrounding Rooks.

“Right then Jacob old pal.” He said, “Why don’t we get down to business? Time to find that Curtis and make him pay.”

Slowly, Jacob nodded. The pair got to their feet and left the pub, much to the Rooks disappointment. Robert had a suspicion that Evie was on to him, she had always been the clever one. If she trying to get Jacob not to trust him, he had to stop her. He had to ensure his plan came to be and no one would get in his way. Not even the twin sister of his once friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I ended this right... it's 1:30am UK time when I published this so I hope its ok!! 
> 
> Things are starting to heat up! Evie's getting suspicious!


	12. Chapter 12

“If I were Will Curtis, where would I be?” Robert asked, as he gazed over the London skyline.

Next to Robert, Jacob was gazing out over London which was being warmed by the midday sun. They had been searching for Will Curtis for a little over a day now. But so far, they were having no luck.

“Evie said that her source had told her that he’d last been seen hiding by the river.” Jacob said.

“Well, forgive me but I’m not going trust that your sister is reliable source.”

Jacob sighed internally, this was not the first occasion when Robert had made some snarky remark about his twin. Although he really was enjoying having his old friend back in his life, the comments about his sister where uncalled for but he was choosing to ignore them. The last thing he wanted was to fall about with Robert again.

“Evie wouldn’t tell me information if it wasn’t true.”

“Can you be sure of that?”

Jacob ignored this comment and continued to stare out over London. They were currently standing on top of one the many buildings in the City of London. While climbing up the side of the building had been difficult as Robert had no skills when it came to wall climbing, but they had somehow managed it. How they were going to get back down was another question. But that was not a question for now, the question now was what to do. The most logical thing to Jacob was to head to the river and follow the lead that Evie had offered. Despite the mutual dislike between Robert and Evie it did not mean that she would supply false information. She wasn’t spiteful.

“We can’t spend all day up here.” Jacob said, turning to look at Robert, “What’s the harm in looking into what Evie told me?”

“Because she’ll be lying.”

Jacob groaned, “Robert, how many times we are going to have this conversation. Evie wouldn’t lie to me.”

“But what if she is? Just consider the possibility that she actually is lying to you.”

Jacob threw Robert a look, he was not about to argue over his sister. Robert held his gaze for a moment before throwing his hands up in the air.

“Fine. But is she has lied then me and her shall be having words.”

Deciding it was best not to say anything Jacob turned and heading towards the edge of the rooftop. Getting down from the building turned out to be more difficult then climbing up, there were multiple occasions where Jacob had to grab Robert to prevent him from falling. It was a slow decent, but they both made it safety to the ground.

The pair travelled to the Thames where they found it bustling with people on the docks and ships trundling along the river. Trade thrived round the Thames as products could be transported easily too far off places. But this area was also where the Blighters had taken a liking to as they could easier get their hands on items which they could sell. The Blighter presence had increased substantially since the Rooks had taken their last territory from them. Robert was walking ahead of Jacob, he shoved people out of the way as he walked seemingly unaware of the comments that they shot at him. It was apparent that Robert did not process the ability to blend with a crowd. Jacob, on the other hand, slipped through the crowd with ease. His Assassin training enabled him to blend with the crowd. Although his sister was much better at blending in, Jacob managed to, usually, keep a low profile when he needed to.

 

As he walked through the crowd Jacob kept his eyes peeled, looking for any signs of the Blighters. The red shirts that they wore where pretty difficult to miss but it was sometimes possible in vast crowds to lose sight of them. A flash of red suddenly caught Jacob’s eye, it had only been for a second but he had defiantly seen something red. Moving to stand where he’d seen the colour Jacob found himself stood next to a fishmonger, who seized the opportunity to try and sell him fish. Jacob, however, tried his best the ignore the fish being practically shoved in his face and instead focus on tracking down what he’d seen. Maybe it was something maybe it was nothing but whatever had thought he had seen he had to investigate. The fish monger continued to shove fish in Jacob’s face, which was beginning to get on his nerves. It was when the fish was practically shoved up his nose that Jacob snapped.

“Do you mind?” He snapped, glaring at the fishmonger.

“Fresh fish!” The seller said, continuing to waft the fish in Jacob’s face, “Caught fresh this morning.”

“And? Does it look like I’m going to buy it.”

“You know you want to.” The seller teased.

Jacob was about to retaliate but a red shirt caught his attention. He’d been right, it had been a Blighter he had seen. The Blighter had not seen him and was heading away from him. Leaving the rather disgruntled fishmonger behind, Jacob began to tail the Blighter. He wasn’t the best at stealth but with the amount of people that were wondering up and down the port he was well concealed. Keeping a close eye on the Blighter Jacob followed him, the Blighter occasionally looked behind him but Jacob simply stepped behind an obvious civilian. Jacob followed the Blighter down the port until they came to a remote area. This end of the port was not in use by the public but the small covered area the Blighter had entered had boxes stacked everywhere. This made it very easy for Jacob to conceal himself. Settling himself behind the stack of boxes, Jacob watched as the Blighter moved over to a tall man, with blonde hair. The man was dressed in a black suit with a Templar cross on his arm. Jacob recognised Will Curtis at once, his features were still as smug and pompous as they had been when he’d been younger. The two men began talking into low voices, Jacob was unable to catch most of what they were saying but he managed to distinguish that Curtis was due to met a contact here, but they had to be completely alone. What he was meeting the contact for Jacob didn’t care, there was an opportunity here. But the problem was, where was Robert? He did not want to kill Curtis without Robert being here, they had gone through all this as that Robert could get his revenge. Jacob glanced round, but it seemed Robert was lost somewhere in the crowds.

 

Curtis and the Blighter continued to talk in low voices while unbeknownst to them the nearby Assassin kept glancing round. Minutes past and Jacob could still see no sign of Robert, there was a chance that Robert would not be able to find this area. It was a rather remote area which seemed to be a place that you’d accidently find rather than purposely find. Unless, of course, you were either the Blighters or Will Curtis. A sudden movement caught his eye and Jacob soon found himself staring at Robert, who was hiding behind a nearby building. Jacob glanced over the boxes to find that the no one was looking in their direction, he the signalled to Robert to join him. He watched his best friend’s rather clumsy attempt to sneak over to him, an Assassin Robert certainly was not. But he made it without alerting either the Templar or Blighter.

“That’s Curtis.” Jacob whispered, “The one in the suit. Apparently, he is due to meet someone here but they have to be alone.”

“Well, let’s kill him before he does.” Robert replied, “All we have to do is wait.”

As it turned out they did not have to wait long. The Blighter that Jacob had been tailing left the area, to an unknown destination. This left Will Curtis all alone. He walked over to the nearest box and began rummaging through its contents. He was looking for the item that his contact was coming for, which was somewhere in the box. He swore under his breath when he could not find said item.  Moving to the box next to it he began rummaging through its contents.

“Lost something Mister Curtis?” A voice behind him said.

His blood can cold for a moment, his contact was here and he did not have the item to give him. He was going to have to somehow talk the man round. Turning he expected to see his contact, but instead he found two men stood in front of him. One he recognised immediately, there was no mistake the Assassin Jacob Frye. Although it had been some years since he’d seen him, but Curtis was struggling to remember the other man. The man had a scarred face one of which was over his left eye. Although the scars reminded him of someone he could not quite think of who this man was.

“Well Mister Frye, we reunited after all this time.” Curtis said, ignoring the other man.

“And I see you still are a pompous, smug rich kid.”

“And you’re still a motherless, thug.”

Jacob narrowed his eyes, “You really think that insult will affect me. Cut the crap Curtis, we came here for a reason.”

Curtis gazed at the other man, “Yeah and I see you brought a friend with you. I don’t see what you and this… loser will do. This man looks as though he’s been a used as a knife sharpener.”

Robert lost his cool, so far, he’d refrained himself from saying anything. But now it was a different matter.

 

Grabbing Curtis by the scruff of his collar Robert threw him backwards. The box behind Curtis broke as he fell into it. Before he could even move the man kicked him hard in the ribs.

“You don’t remember?” Robert shouted, delivering another kick, “You used me as a sharpener for hours and you forget.”

Another kick. And another… and another. Jacob observed Robert letting his fury out on Curtis. He’d guessed that Robert held a lot of anger towards Curtis but he had not imagined his anger was on this scale. He was unsure what to do which was a rare occurrence, he was not too sure whether to intervene or not. Robert was raining the punches and kicks on Curtis who was unable to defend himself due to how quickly the punches were coming.

“Robert I think –”Jacob started.

“No. This bastard tortured me for hours and has the nerve to forget. Well I didn’t.” Robert was ranting now, “I did not forget what you did to me. This is where you pay.”

Robert was still kicking Curtis but as he still he pulled out a short knife from his inside pocket. A second later it was protruding from Will Curtis’ chest. The Templar moved for a moment before falling still. For a moment no one moved, Robert was breathing hard staring at the now lifeless Templar and Jacob was staring at Robert not quite believing what he’d just seen. Even though he knew that Curtis had deserved what he got, he may not have handled his departure as Robert had. But he could not say anything, he didn’t want to risk damaging the relationship.

“Well that was…..” Jacob trailed off, not entirely sure what to say.

Robert said nothing, an idea had popped into his mind. It was a way in which he could solve his problems with one of the annoying Frye twins. The idea was genius, he was not sure why he had not thought of this before. Picking up the body of Will Curtis he turned to Jacob.

“Meet me in the pub in a hour. Let’s celebrate the passing of this arse.”

“But where are you going?” Jacob asked, confused.

“To dispose of this man. I’ll see you in a hour.”

Jacob made to say more but Robert had walked away. There was something not right about this, something no right at all but he could not figure out what it was. He shook his head, maybe it was nothing. Jacob rubbed his face as he walked away, something was telling that something was wrong. But he was over thinking? Nothing was wrong. Nothing bad was about to happen. Would it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took me so long to get out. I'm battling a bit of writer's block at the moment so I hope this is ok.  
> I hope that the next chapter doesn't take as long to get out to you!!   
> Hope you enjoyed!


	13. Chapter 13

The rain poured, nothing was able to escape its path. It lashed against the windows and pounded on rooftops. It turned earth into mud which then created muddy puddles all over London. The puddles were most common in the more rundown parts and the building sites where the earth had been dug up.  Down one dark alleyway where barely anyone ventured lay a large muddy puddle beneath a broken wall. Broken bricks lay scattered around the ground and in the puddle. Lying in the middle of the puddle lay a woman. Evie slowly pushed herself up onto her elbows, her face was covered in a mixture of mud and blood. Letting out a pained breath she pushed herself up further. Her whole body felt like it was on fire. But there was no time to recover she could hear voices above her, she knew it would be the people pursuing her. Forcing her muscles to hold she darted round the corner and out of sight.

“She’s not there. Come let’s keep looking.”

Footsteps echoed then there was silence, apart from the distance sounds of carriages and hooves. Evie doubled over for a moment catching her breath before moving out of alley in a half stagger half limp sort of way.

* * *

Trying to keep a low profile whilst carrying a dead body was not the easiest of tasks. Eventually Robert had to give up and place the body in an empty carriage. Taking a seat in the driver’s seat, he spurred the horse to move. He rode back away from the Thames and headed towards the City of London. Robert drove round the city for a while which turned out to be an hour or so. Scanning the pavement as he rode gently up the street he was searching. Searching for anyone dressed in a similar way to the man he and Jacob had seen. After a long time scanning up and down the street Robert picked out someone dressed in a red shirt. The man was dressed in the same red shirt that the other man had been wearing, the man who’d been talking to Curtis. The man on the pavement was oblivious to the fact he was being followed. He just came walking up the street, his feet taking him to the place that he needed to go.  Shoving his hands into his pockets he darted up the high street then off down a side street. The side street became a deserted alleyway. In the alleyway there were five other Blighters talking in low voices. They looked round as the man approached and it seemed as though they hadn't been expecting him judging by the confused expressions.

“Where’s Curtis?” One of them asked.

The man was taken about,“What he’s not there?”

“No. The buyer turned up and Curtis wasn’t there.”

“So how are we going to get our money?”

There was a pause, none of the Blighters knew what to say. They were all skint, they were broke. Since the Templars had been driven out from London the cash flow to the Blighters had become very limited. They did not even have enough money to buy a decent pint in the pub. Curtis has promised them that this buyer would set them up with enough cash to last them a long time.

“So where is Curtis now?” A Blighter asked after a long pause.

“Here he is.” A new voice said.

The Blighters turned to see a new man approaching them. The man was carrying something or rather someone. The new man placed the body of Will Curtis on the floor, the Blighters immediately pulled out their guns and pointed them at the newcomer. Robert stepped back and held his hands up.

“I did not kill this man. But I can tell you who did.”

One of the Blighters narrowed his eyes, “And who what that be?”

Robert smirked, “Evie Frye.”

At the sound of the name the Blighters all glanced at each other. It was clear to Robert that these people knew exactly who Evie Frye was.

“And how are we supposed to believe that?” A Blighter asked, the gun in his hand still pointing at Robert.

“I saw her. Look, we both have something in common here. We both hate those Frye Twins and would very much like to see them both dead. I believe that we can help one another.”

 

The Blighters looked at one another, they were not quite sure whether to believe this man or not. But they could not deny that the very much wanted to see the deaths of both Frye Twins, they were responsible for the Blighters’ current situation. Slowly, the Blighters lowered their guns but they eyed the man suspiciously. 

“What do you want from us?” A Blighter asked, frowning at Robert.

“I want you to capture and torture Evie Frye.” Robert said, “I want you to make her to beg for death.”

The Blighters glanced at each other, none of them really knew what to do. Should they just trust a total stranger?

“That’s all very good but what do we get out of this?” The Blighter asked. 

Robert put a hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small bag. Throwing at a nearby Blighter he smirked. The Blighter opened the bag and his jaw dropped, inside the bag was more money than they had seen a long time. The Blighter looked at Robert in disbelief.

“There will be more then that coming your way. The more you make her suffer the more money you get.”

The Blighters looked to one another but they all knew there was no way they would reject this sort of money.

“What if we kill her?”

“No. She does not die until I say so.” Robert said, “I want to be there when she dies, I want to end her life personally. So, torture her. Make her suffer. But do not kill her until I say so. Do we have a deal?”

The Blighters nodded.

“Good. As for Jacob Frye, you are to leave him alone. I will deal with him.” Robert went on.

“How?”

Robert pulled out a small bottle filled with a colourless liquid, “This is a liquid which will allow me to manipulate Jacob and make him oblivious to what we are doing. It is adapted from those hallucinogenic darts those two poccess. Once he is weakened I shall kill him as well.”

The Blighters smirked at each other. It was about time those Frye Twins were punished for what they had done. Drawing out their suffering was exactly what needed to happen. They had to pay for everything and this was the best way to do just that.  

“What do you have against the Frye Twins to want them dead so much?” One Blighter asked.

“Let’s just say we have history. Now, shall we get to work?”

* * *

Rain was just beginning to fall, it started in small droplets but became larger and more frequent in a very short space of time. The people round St Paul’s Cathedral went running for cover, although some had been smart enough to bring umbrellas with them so they simply opened their umbrellas and carried on with whatever they were doing. Standing across the street from St Pauls, Evie was leaning against a wall gazing at the scene around her. She did not really have any reason to be at St Pauls, she was not tracking a target or trying to discover anything. She was simply there out of her own curiosity. There was something about simply watching people, seeing what the innocent got up to in their innocent lives, which was intriguing. Evie had been watching the innocent for a good while now and was certainly learning a lot. It had also been rather amusing as she recalled watching a couple’s argument mere minutes ago. Apparently, the man had brought the wrong colour shoes for his wife and it appeared to be the end of the world. The women had been howling all the way up the street, telling the man that he’d disgraced her and did not respect her enough to buy her the right colour shoes. Evie had to stifle a laugh, she could not quite believe that the women had been kicking up such a fuss over a pair of shoes. Letting out a sigh she continued to gaze at the people around her, she couldn’t help but wonder what life would be like if she had no knowledge of the struggle between Assassins and Templars. Although Evie had to come to the conclusion that knowing her she would most likely get bored.

Evie was so caught up in her musing that she failed to notice the sound of footsteps coming from behind her. A hand grabbed her by her collar and pulled her backwards, where she was thrown to the ground. Looking up Evie saw at least five Blighters staring down at her, all looking rather pleased with themselves. Evie glared up at the Blighters, but said nothing.

“Well well well, look who we’ve found.” One said. 

“Who would have thought that we would find you so quickly.”Another added. 

"Right Lads, you know what we need to do." 

The Blighters were choosing their words carefully, they were under strict instructions not to reveal who had ordered them to torture the Assassin. If they did then they knew that they would end up dead. For a few moment the Blighters taunted their victim, throwing all sorts of insults at the fallen women. Evie was ignoring the Blighters’ taunts, she had noticed a gap between the Blighter to her right and the wall. If she was quick she might be able to get through that gap and get away before they pounced on her. Out of nowhere a sharp kick was delivered to her ribs, she doubled over as all the air was forced from her lungs. But that had been a mistake, as she doubled over there as a sharp pain on the left side of her ribs. She could feel blood pouring from the wound now inflicted there. The Blighters around her laughed.

“Boys we are going to be eating well tonight.”

The Blighters advanced pulling their blades from their jacket pockets. But there was no way that Evie was going to allow the Blighters to attack her. The gap beside her had opened up, it was now or never. The Blighters seemed taken back as Evie suddenly leapt to her feet and sprinted away. She ran down the alleyway trying to put as much distance between her and the Blighters as possible. But the Blighters were giving chase, they were determined to stop her. Emerging from the other side of the alleyway she sprinted across the road, hoping that with all the carriages that trundled up and down her pursuers would lose sight of her. But that plan backfired when a carriage came tearing up the street and one of its wheels collided with her as it drove past, sending her crashing to the floor. She landed on her left side which aggravated the already bleeding wound. But there was no time to stop she had to keep going. Staggering back to her feet she took off again. There was another long alleyway in front of her and it was there that she chose to run down. She wanted to use her rope launcher to zoom up and away but she knew with the amount of pressure it put on her left side it would now be very painful and so it was not an option. Throwing a look over her shoulder she could see that the Blighters were still on her tail. It seemed unlikely that she would ever shake them.

Evie had only made it halfway down the alleyway when there was a loud bang and a searing pain in her right leg. Her leg betrayed her and she fell to the ground. Within a second the Blighters had reached her and rained down punches on her. She felt blood pour from her nose and bottom lip. She could not get away but she had to find some way to escape. A thought crossed her mind, it was her last hope. As a Blighter pulled her off her feet, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a smoke bomb. There was a bang as the smoke bomb met the ground and exploded, thick grey smoke surrounded them in seconds. The Blighter holding Evie dropped her as he doubled over coughing. Evie, taking advantage of the temporary confusion, sprinted further down the alley. She didn’t get far before her injuries made her stop running. She limped on knowing that it would not be long until they came after her. Looking over her shoulder she did not see the Blighters, but she also did not see the gap in the wall behind her. Losing her footing she fell backwards through the gap in the wall. It wasn’t a particularly long fall but she landed in a muddy puddle and the right side of her head smacked against something hard. She just lay there feeling rain pound against her, all see could do now was hope that things didn’t get any worse.

* * *

Leaning against the door of his shop, Henry Green was looking out as the rain poured down. He watched how it bounced off the top of roofs and carriages. There was something very peaceful about watching the rain fall. It was reminding him of his home, oh how he missed his home. His thoughts on rain was soon interrupted as a figure caught his eye. The person seemed to be almost staggering down the street. This wasn’t really a unusual sight as the nearby pub meant that there were frequently drunken fools staggering from the pub. But this figure was different, the person was very familiar. Henry began walking towards the person, as he got closer he recognised Miss Frye. He quicken his pace over to her, why was she staggering. He broke into a run when he spotted blood.

“Miss Frye? What’s happened?”

Miss Frye didn’t answer, her face was covered in mud and blood. Her face was pale and Henry had to question how long she’d been walking around like this.

“Miss Frye? Are you alright?”

Once again she did not answer.

Henry gripped her upper arm, “Evie? Evie! Are you alright?”

He’d dropped all formalities, this was not the time to stick to being socially correct. Finally, Evie looked at him, her eyes were glazing over.

“Jacob?”

That was the only word she managed to get out before her eyes fluttered shut. She dropped like a stone but Henry caught her before she hit the ground. He had no idea what had happened, but he had to find Jacob. Securing a limp Evie in his arms, Henry set off. There was no time to lose.


	14. Chapter 14

Jacob was drumming his fingers on the side of his pint glass, lost in thought. His eyes were locked onto the window of the pub, he could see raining pounding against it. Letting out a sigh, he took a swig of the drink. Feeling the cool liquid trickle down his throat. He’d been waiting for Robert for a long time now, in fact he had lost track of how long he’d been waiting but it had to be at least an hour. He could not understand what was taking Robert so long, surely disposing of a body did not take this long. He took another swig of his drink, his eyes flicked every so often to the door. More time past and the rain got heavier against the windows. Finally, after what seemed to be hours the doors to the pub swung open and Robert stepped in.

“Finally,” Jacob said, “I was beginning to think you’d gotten lost.”

Robert walked over to the bar, “I never get lost. Want another?”

Jacob downed the rest of his drink before nodding at Robert. He missed the smirk that stretched across Robert’s face. Calling the bartender over he ordered two pints. While he waited for the man to prepare the drinks Robert glanced over his shoulder. Jacob was not looking at him, he had resumed his staring contest with the window. Meaning he would have no idea about what Robert was doing. There was a clunk behind him the two pint glasses where placed on the bar. Passing some money across to the barkeep, Robert waiting until the barkeep had moved away to serve someone else before pulling the small bottle from his jacket pocket. He removed the stopper and pour a couple of drops of the colourless liquid into the beer. Once again, he smirked as he brought over the two pints. Jacob nodded in thanks to Robert but taking a large swig from the glass without a second thought.

“So, where did you leave Curtis?”

“In some church graveyard, I have no idea which.” Robert lied, taking a sip of his glass.

“Shall we toast to him?” Jacob asked, a slight grin pulling at the side of his mouth.

There was a slight pause as Robert and Jacob exchanged a look before they before started chuckling.

“Let’s toast to an old enemy who finally got what was coming to him.” Robert said eventually, although he was still chuckling slightly.

The pair banged their glasses together before drinking, they eyed each other as they drank. Although neither of them said it they both knew they were playing a drinking game, which was who could down their pint first. As it turned out it was Jacob who could finish first, he slammed his glass down to proclaim his victory.

“Rematch!” Robert declared, slamming his glass down.

Before Jacob could say another word, Robert had marched back to the bar to order more drinks.

 

The pile of glasses got bigger as the pair entered in to an intense drinking game. Jacob was trying to prove his great skill when it came drinking. But Robert, on the other hand, was taking this opportunity to get as much of the colourless liquid into his once friend as was possible. The more of it Jacob drank the easier it would be to get him to do his bidding. The pair were encouraged by the other pub goers who seemed to really enjoy watching the pair of them battle it out. It was only when Jacob slammed down a sixth glass that the game came to a sudden stop. The door to the pub had banged open once again but this time two people entered. Well, one person entered but he was carrying another.

 Jacob jumped to his feet at the sight. Standing at the door, dripping wet, was Henry who had Evie in his arms. Evie’s face was covered in a mixture of mud and blood and she appeared to be unconscious. Henry’s robes were also stained with red blood which was undoubtedly Evie’s.

“Evie?” Jacob called, as he staggered over to them, “Henry, what’s happened?”

“I don’t know, I found her staggering in the streets. She was looking for you Jacob.”

“We need to get her to the train.” Jacob said, all colour had left his face.

Without another word, he left the pub with Henry on his heels. Robert, who had been watching the scene from the table, could not help but sneer. The Blighters had got to work quicker than he expected. Getting to his feet he left the pub, intend on following Jacob and the other man to wherever they were going. He spotted them not to far down the street, as he hurried to catch up with them he had to admit that Jacob could certainly hold his drink as from this distance it was near impossible to tell that Jacob had had a few drinks apart from the occasional stumble. Robert wasn’t surprised that Jacob had chosen to care about his sister more than anything else. All these years later and he would still his sister over anything. He followed the group from a short distance, Jacob had still not noticed him. Eventually they came to a train station where Jacob and the other man stopped. They seemed to be looking for something or perhaps someone.

 

After a few minutes they seemed to have found whatever they were looking for. Robert watched as they moved towards a train which was pulling into the station. He could not help but wonder as to why they were both heading towards that train. When Robert hurried over and entered the train only to stop in his tracks. Inside the carriage there was shelves with a great number of books on them and a wall with various pictures on which all had a red cross through them. What was this place? A secret base? Robert’s attention was soon drawn to a sound. The sound was a choked cough. Henry had lowered Evie down her to the floor when she’d suddenly began coughing violently. Jacob immediately put an arm around her to keep her upright as she began coughing up blood. Not having anything to hand Jacob caught the blood in his bare hand. Behind him Agnus had stood up looking in horror at the scene.

“Jacob? What happened?” She asked.

“I don’t know, but please grab me a towel or anything to soak up the blood. And something to sober me up.”  

Angus nodded slowly, still staring at Evie, before hurrying out of the carriage. Jacob did not take his eyes off his twin. She was still coughing but less blood was appearing. Jacob guessed that, judging by the blood running from her nose, when she’d collapsed blood had run down the back of her throat which caused her to choke. He could only be thankfully that it was roused her from the unconscious state she’d been in, sometimes people didn’t wake and choked to death. Evie’s eyes fluttered but didn’t quite open, she was barely conscious. Jacob pulled her gently into an embrace and looked up at Henry. His robes were stained with Evie’s blood but he did not seem to be worried about that, he was sat on the sofa watching Evie.

“What happened Henry?” Jacob asked.

Henry shrugged, “I’m not sure, I found her stumbled around near my shop. I don’t know what has happened to her.”

Jacob looked down at his sister. He could see blood oozing from the existing wound to her head from the explosion. There was also blood still coming from her nose, the blood on her face was mixing with the mud that was clinging to her face. She must have fallen somewhere but why? Who had done this? The only other injuries Jacob could see was a wound on her left side and her right lower leg. What the hell had happened? Jacob looked up hoping to see Angus coming back with what he’d asked but instead saw Robert, who’d been watching the scene quietly.

“Oh god, Robert.” Jacob said, “I’m sorry I forgot about you.”

“Not the first time.” Robert folded his arms.

At Jacob’s expression Robert decided to hold off his onslaught of words.

“Sorry that was a bit harsh. I’ll go and help... Agnus, was it?”

At Jacob’s nod he turned and left the carriage. He stepped across to the next one where he found a bar with a few members of Jacob’s gang enjoying a pint. As he looked behind the bar for coffee Angus came hurrying back into the room. She was carrying various cloths in her hands, she ran past the bar before running back again.

“I forgot about the coffee.” She said, in a panic, “But I can’t carry it all.”

She didn’t seem to be speaking to anyone in particular, just voicing her thoughts. But seeing an opportunity to continue his plan.

“I’ll make coffee, you continue what you’re doing.” He said, a fake smile on his face.

Angus thanked him perhaps six times before hurrying out of the carriage. The Rooks in the carriage gave Angus curious looks as she passed them, they knew something was going on. Robert turned his attention to preparing coffee. He poured the hot liquid into a mug before subtly taking a small bottle from his pocket. Pouring a couple of drops into the steaming liquid he smirked. The Blighters were playing their part, now it was time for him to play his. He had to keep giving Jacob the liquid or his plan would fail. It would take perhaps a few days for the liquid to really start taking affect but when it did then his plan would be in motion. Moving back through the carriages Robert found that the twins were no longer in the next carriage. Only the man who’d carried Evie, whose name he still did not know, and Agnus were there. The man was watching him as Robert passed through the carriage to the next where he was assuming Jacob was. Sure enough in the next carriage he found the twins. Jacob was sat on the edge of the bed holding a damp cloth against the side of his twin’s head. Evie seemed to be slowly regaining consciousness due to the fluttering of her eyes and how she twitched every now and again. Robert placed the coffee on a nearby table before exiting the room, whilst trying to conceal his smirk. Everything was going according to plan.

* * *

Jacob had seen through the corner of his eye Robert enter and place a cup of coffee on the nearby time. But he’d been so wrapped up in his sister’s care that he’d failed to thank Robert for that. He’d have to thank him later but his main concern at present was his sister.  He’d cleaned the mud and blood from her face but the bleeding had not stopped yet. He was holding pressure on the wound to the right side of her head but could do nothing about her bleeding nose or lip. He could see that her nose wasn’t broken but someone had punched her very hard in the face to cause it to bleed this much. The blood flowed slowly from her nose where it joined the blood coming from her upper lip. Evie herself was still not completely conscious. Her eyes kept fluttering as well as her fingers kept twitching which suggested that she was trying to regain consciousness but had not yet been successful. As soon as she came round he’d patch her up and then he could find out what had happened to her. He couldn’t help but ask himself, was this just a one-off attack or was this part of a wider plot? Well, that was something he’d have to find out.


	15. Chapter 15

The sun shone high in the sky, casting it rays across London. It was the perfect day, the perfect day for racing. Behind the a nearby building in the very centre of London near to Trafalgar Square. There were around seven carriages all lined up waiting for the driver to mount up. There were various people standing around some were tending to the horses, others were standing around the carriages talking, all the talk seemed laced with anticipation. Two men strolled towards the carriages, with expression of perhaps smugness on their faces. Jacob grinned as he clapped Robert on the back.

“I’m not going to go easy on you Robert.”

Robert laughed, “Neither am I friend. This is not going to be an easy race.”

Jacob held out a hand, “May the best man win.”

The pair shook hands because climbing into the driver’s seat of their respective carriages. Time to discover who was the faster racer.

* * *

Henry was watching in disbelief at what met his eyes. Carriages flew round the corner of the Natural Gallery before storming down the street and around the corner. He shook his head, he could not quite believe that this was happening. This was probably the most reckless race to date in London. What made things worse was that Jacob was involved in the race. Previous races like this one had nearly always ended with somebody getting injured. Standing along the side-lines were various members of the public as well a group of Rooks. The carriages came charging around the corner once again and raced up the street once again. Henry had to look away as one carriage turned so sharply that it nearly toppled over. Why was Jacob taking part in something this dangerous? Well the answer to that was Jacob was a thrill seeker. This was right up his street. 

 

There was a noise behind him, looking round he saw someone climbing over the wall. Miss Frye pulled herself over the wall and landed slightly ungraceful way on the other side. She straightened up, a wince of pain darted across her bruised face. It had only been four days since the Blighters had attacked her, only four days and yet she was back out in the field. Evie leant against the wall a hand pressed against her left side and the other hand covering her nose.

“Miss Frye.” Henry said, with a smile, “Should… How are you today?”

He was going to ask whether she should have left the train but knowing her she would not take to kindly to that. Both twins were very stubborn especially when they were injured, nothing could keep them resting. Jacob was the only one who could keep Evie resting and visa verser but today that had not happened. 

“I’m fine.” Evie said, her voice sounded odd.

She was still holding her hand to her nose. Her nose already bore a purple bruise from where she’d been punched during her attack. But there was something else, why was she holding her hand there? Was it a just a simple sneeze or was something else wrong?

“Miss Frye?”

Evie let out a sigh and looked at Henry, lowering her hand. Her nose was bleeding. Henry straighten up looking at her in horror.

“It’s not as bad as it looks.” She said, “Ran into a couple of Blighters on the way here. They are up to something, these two are not ones which was involved the first time. It seems as though there is some sort of plot going on which involves all of them.”

Henry knew what she was referring to, she’d told them how the Blighters were responsible for attacking her. Whilst they all knew that the Blighters would have plenty of reasons to kill them, the very nature of these attacks were different. They were actively tracking and trying to kill Evie, at present they did not know why. Pulling out a handkerchief from inside his robes he offered it to Evie. She smiled slightly and accepted it.

 “How did you get away from the Blighters?” Henry asked.

“They gave me no choice, I did what I had to.”

Once again Henry knew that Miss Frye meant thought she had chosen her words well. She was not going to announce that she’d killed two people in the middle of a crowd.

The two of them fell silent for a moment as Henry turned his attention back to the race and Evie continued her efforts to stop her nose bleed. After a minute or so Henry made to speak but was interrupted by the sounds of hooves. Around the corner of the National Gallery burst two carriages they sped down the street almost neck and neck before storming round the corner and out of sight. Evie stared after the carriages and sighed. Over the last couple of days Jacob seemed to have fallen back into his old ways. The old ways he’d been in whilst they’d been growing up before he and Robert had fallen out. This concerned her greatly, her brother had come so far since those days back in Crawley. He learnt so much but he seemed to be regressing and that troubled her. The day after the attack Evie remembered how he had vowed to help her stop the Blighters but yet three days later he did not seem the least bit concerned. That was not like her brother, she knew that he would and should care about what happened. She would do the same for him if the roles were reversed. But now she was not quite sure what would happen. What would happen if she was attacked and left in the state she had been in again? What if Henry hadn’t found her? Would Jacob even notice? Evie had no recollection of how Henry how found her that night, the last thing she remembered was falling to the muddy puddle. But she been told that Henry had found her and taken her back to the train with Jacob, where Jacob had tended to her wounds. But the question was would he do it again given the state he was falling back into. Part of her told her that he would down to the simple fact that they were brother and sister. But the other part said that if he’d stopped caring about finding out who had attacked her then maybe he wouldn’t care if it happened again.

 

The carriages came hurtling around the corner once again. Evie flinched at how close two of them came to crashing into one another.

“Someone is going to get hurt.” She remarked.

Her words came true only a few moments later. Two carriages came flying around the corner and stormed towards the finishing line. Evie saw that the drivers of both carriages were none other than her brother and Robert. As they raced towards the finishing line Robert’s carriage suddenly verged towards Jacob’s. The wheels of the carriages got linked together and chaos followed. Both carriages were thrown into the air but they came crashing back down to earth in a crumpled heap. The bystanders ran as fast as they could so they did not get hit by any flying pieces of wood. Evie just watched in horror. She might have just witnessed the death of her brother. Colour had left her face and she was just staring at the wreckage. Henry reached out to place a hand on her shoulder but she had already begun hurried towards the wreckage, although it was more like a limp. He too hurried over to the wreckage. He could not be dead. Jacob could not be dead. Reaching the wreckage Evie could not see any sign of her brother. The wood from both carriages had merged together making it impossible to work out what wood belonged to which carriage. For a moment, there was silence which left Evie fearing the worst. She felt Henry’s hand on her shoulder but she continued to stare at the wreckage. A matter of moments later the wood began to shift revealing both Jacob and Robert. They both stumbled slightly but looked, remarkably, unharmed. Jacob saw the look on Evie’s face and walked over to her, putting an arm around her.

“That was an amazing race.” He said, smiling at his sister.

Evie shot him an incredulous look. She opened her mouth to say something but Robert had strolled over and elbowed her out of the way. Evie was pushed back a couple of steps and put a hand to her left side. Robert had elbowed her right over her wound.

“Jacob!” Robert cried, putting both arms on the latter’s shoulders, “That was the best race ever!”

“But we still don’t know who the best racer is.” Jacob frowned.

“Well I know, let’s go to the fight club!” Robert announced, a smile on his face, “There’s one not too far from here, let’s go recreate old times.”

From the look on Jacob’s face his twin could tell that he was going to go along with this idea.

“Jacob.” Evie called.

Jacob looked round at her. He took in her pale face which was covered in bruises. He could see how tired she looked but also caught a hint of distress in her eyes. He also saw the fresh trail of blood which was streaming from her nose. A small voice in the back of his mind was telling him to go with Evie, she needed to be forced to rest. But there was this annoying voice which was forcing him to follow whatever Robert was saying. It was a bizarre feeling which he could not quite understand.

“Go get your nose sorted Evie, I’ll talk to you later.”

With that Jacob turned and walked away up the road, with Robert close behind him. He heard Evie call to him again but did not turn around. Robert had told him to go to the fight club and that was where he was going. He could not and would not ignore what Robert had told him because… well he did not know why but there was just something telling him not to ignore him.

 

Evie watcher her brother’s retreating back, she called after him but he was ignoring her. She wanted to go after him but her injuries prevented her from running after him. She could not understand what had suddenly caused her brother to change. It had to be Robert, it was the only logical explanation she could think of. She turned around to see Henry watching her.

“Robert has done this.” She said, “He must be doing something to Jacob.”

“We don’t know that Miss Frye.” Henry replied, although he wore a sympatric expression on his face.

“But how else can we explain this? This sudden change, it all started when _he_ returned.”

Henry opened his mouth to say more but a sound caught his attention. He saw a large group of Blighters coming in their direction. At the moment they’d not spotted them but that could all change very quickly. It was time to go.

“Come.” Henry said, “There are Blighters coming, we need to get out away from here.”

Evie looked round and saw the large group of Blighters coming their way. She was in no state to have to fight them off again. Nodding she followed Henry, as they went Evie’s thoughts turned back to Jacob. Robert was up to something and she had to get to the bottom of it before anything happened to her brother. She was not going to allow anything to happen to him, no matter the cost.


	16. Chapter 16

London seemed to be experiencing a very rainy week. Over the past seven days it had rained continuously, it never stopped neither did it ease. It poured over London leaving large puddles practically everywhere. Thankfully this had meant that the carriages races which took places all over London had temporarily stopped as given the slippery conditions it was likely that someone could potentially be seriously injured if not killed. The races being cancelled meant that the fight clubs’ attendance had vastly increased. It was in one of these fight clubs located in the southern area of London that Jacob and Robert found themselves. Robert was in the ring whilst Jacob watched from the side lines. He yelled encouragement to his friend. His long time friend seemed to be making good work of his opponents, Jacob’s training had paid off. Over the past few days Jacob had been giving Robert some combat training which, unbeknownst to him, would eventually be used against him. It was another example how the solution that Robert had been administrating to Jacob was having an effect. Jacob had no idea that he was being manipulated against his will. If he did then maybe none of this would be happening. But it was happening and he had no idea.

 

Robert delivered a hard final punch to his opponent before straight in up as his opponent fell backwards on the the ground, unconscious. Punching the air with his fist, Robert declared his victory to enormous cheers from the crowd. Catching a small money bag which was thrown to him but a man named Robert Topping.  Leaving the ring he rejoined Jacob who clapped him on the back.

“You my friend are ready for the big leagues.” Jacob said, leading his friend out of the club.

“Yeah soon I may be able to take you on.” Robert replied.

“You will certainly give me a run for my money. But listen you are still forgetting to protect your left side. You have to protect both flanks or else someone could easily strike you there and gain an advantage.”

The pair had left the fight club and begun walking down a quiet street. The rain was still pouring down but neither one of them seemed partially bothered by it.

“I'll try to remember that. Now why don't we go and spend my winnings on some drinks?”

“Robert, I think that is the best idea you've had all day.”

The pair sped up, the headed down the street and then up a main road. After serve all minutes they were both soaked through but once again they did not care. They eventually found a pub which was playing host to a lot of the Rooks. They cheered as Jacob entered, Jacob greeted them enthusiastically before walking to the bar to order drinks. It was not long both Jacob and Robert had been pulled into yet another drinking game with the Rooks. The pub was soon full of the sounds of beer being poured into various glasses and drunken voices. This was certainly looking like a very pleasant evening for all involved. But the night was still young, who knew what it had in store.

* * *

Evie pulled her sword out of the fallen Blighter and stumbled back. She looked down at the three men she’d just killed, this was getting ridiculous. Every day this week the Blighters had found and attacked her. Wiping the blade against the shirt of the nearest Blighter and stored her cane sword back inside her jacket. Putting a hand against her nose she felt blood pouring from it. Evie began walking away from the deceased Blighters. She wasn’t badly injured but she that it wasn’t just her nose that was bleeding. There was a wound above her right eyebrow and a small wound on her left cheek. As far as her injuries went these were the least severe ones she’d received. But the constant and continuous attacks she’d been experiencing where starting to wear her down. She hadn’t slept properly in days and all the constant fighting and running meant she was physically and mentally exhausted. Whilst most people in the situation she was might just hide out, she did not. Evie was refusing to hide, she would not run and hide from this. She had other more pressing issues then what was happening to her.

 

Walking down the rain drenched pavement, she kept her head low. The last thing she wanted to attract the attention of the Blighters… again. If she could have travelled via the rooftops but she was far too tired to even try. She was worried that if she did then it was highly likely that she could fall to her death, which was the very last thing she wanted. She continued to head up the street, the pavement splashed under her feet. Her destination was the nearest pub, that was where she would most likely find her brother. Ever since Robert had arrived back in London and re-entered Jacob’s life the pair had been going back to their old ways. Something wasn’t right with Jacob, she was sure that Robert had done something to do with it. But as of yet she had no proof of it, she had to somehow find out and fast before anything bad happened. A pub soon came into view, quickening her pace she drew near to the pub. She could not say what she would do if she found her brother in there. But just as she reached the entrance to the pub gun shots rang out behind her. Before she could even turn round someone tackled her to the ground. Evie saw a Blighter on top of her, where he’d come from she did not know. The Blighter leered at her pulling a knife from his jacket. But before the Blighter could make a single move Evie managed to roll over causing the Blighter to lose his balance. Extending her hidden blade she plunged it into the Blighter, who fell lifeless to the floor. As she pushed the deceased Blighter off her a couple of Rooks came running from the pub. One of them pulled Evie to her feet.

“Miss Frye? Are you alright?” The Rook asked.

Evie was about to reply when something or rather someone in the pub. Her brother. Her brother was sat inside the pub drink in hand gazing at the scene which had just taken place. The sight of this pushed Evie over the edge. She took several steps forward, glaring at her brother.

“Really? You just sit there.” She snapped, “Did you not just see what happened?”

“No I did but you seem to have it under control.” Jacob replied, taking a sip from his drink.

“What is wrong with you Jacob? These past few weeks you seem to just no care about anything. What is going on?”

There was a scoff and a new voice spoke, “Oh look the fun police has arrived.”

 

Evie turned her gaze towards Robert. The atmosphere in the pub changed at once, it became tense. All eyes were now gazing on either Evie or Robert.

“Excuse me?”

“You always have to ruin things. Ever since we were all teenagers.”

“But we’re not fifteen anymore. There’s no need to punch your way through life anymore. You always were the one pushing for a fight.”

“That’s rich coming from you.” Robert shot back, getting to his feet, “Wasn’t it you who got involved a fight with five men that were far more powerful then you? Daddy had to come and save you didn’t he?”

Jacob, who had not said a word, saw Evie’s hand move. She’d subtly moved it inside her jacket to the where her throwing knives were kept. It was clear to Jacob that Robert was pushing her to the limit. From experience he knew that getting on the wrong side of Evie was not a place to be and Robert was certainly getting himself there. Jacob rose from his seat, in an attempt to calm the situation but found that no words came out. Evie was glaring at Robert, that had hurt. She still had nightmares over that particular night and the last thing she needed was Robert bringing it up. She took a breath to steady herself before addressing her brother.

“Jacob, this is not the type of person you want to be around. He has not changed. Here stands a man who threatened to kill us and I can see that he still means that.”

“You are the one that hasn’t changed Evie.” Robert said, “You still the manipulative bitch you have always been. How _dare_ you try and force your brother to what you want. What gives you the right to control him, you selfish -”

There was a flash of silver and the sound of cracking wood which cut of the end of Robert’s sentence. A small silver throwing knife had embedded itself into the wood of the pub wall. The knife was less than a centimetre from Robert’s head. Evie was glaring at Robert, her gaze did not leave his face. It was clear from the look on her face that she had intended to throw the knife into the wood. Her aim was impeccable. It was also clear that the knife throw had been a warning. Robert had pushed Evie to far, there was no going back. There was bad blood between them now and Evie had made it clear that it was irreversible. Without another word Evie turned and left the pub, leaving the onlookers rather shocked. The Rooks had never seen Evie as angry as she was now. Jacob moved away from the table he’d been sat at. He was looking between the furious Robert and the door which Evie had just left through. The question now was which one of them would he go to. His friend or his sister?


	17. Chapter 17

Robert pulled the embedded knife out of the wall his blood was still boiling. Looking down at the blade, he had no idea that Evie had such good aim. She could have easily planted the blade in his eye if she’d wanted. But she hadn’t, she only warned him that it was within her power. He was not going to let Evie put him in a position to kill him, in fact it was high time he dealt with her once and for all. But that presented a problem, he was low on funds to give the Blighters. He’d have to source some cash from somewhere. He was brought out of thought when a person appeared in front of him, Jacob was standing in front of him looking rather concerned.   
“Are you ok?”  
“I’m fine, no thanks to your sister. She nearly killed me.”   
Jacob looked a bit flustered, “She didn’t mean to… she’s just.. she’s –“   
“I will tell you what she is.” Robert interrupted, “She’s is a manipulative bitch and I don’t think you shouldn't speak to her again.”   
Robert stared at Jacob, in a way which was rather suspicious. It was as though he was trying to tell Jacob something without saying it. The look seemed to last several long minutes when in fact it only lasted a matter of seconds.   
“Ok I won’t but I know she really didn’t mean to do that.”  
The Rooks, who were watching the exchange, glanced at one another. None of them spoke but they were all wondering the same thing. Why would Jacob cut his sister off so easily? Something was defiantly not right, they had all witnessed what had happened when the Frye Twins had fallen out before but now they seemed so close. They had seemed closer then ever now so why was Jacob throwing that away after everything they been through. Silence fell in the room; all the occupants of the pub were thinking the same thing. What happens now?

* * *

Hours had past since the confrontation between Evie and Jacob, but the tension had not subsided. What had happened in the pub between the twins and the conversation afterwards had made it’s way to every single Rook. They all knew what had happened but they were not sure exactly what happened now. Meanwhile, the Blighters were preparing to take the next step. The money they were receiving was becoming smaller, they were not receiving as much as they had been previously. This was unacceptable. Action made to be taken. The Blighters numbers had dwindled since the group had lost so much money and that some had been killed by a certain Assassin but a few of them remained. They had taken over an old coal warehouse and made it their base. This was where they met to discuss their plans. 

“We have to do something.” One was saying, “He promised us money and yet we haven’t seen a bag of money for at least three weeks now.”   
“What can we do? If we risk seeking him out the whole plan could be ruined.” Another asked.  
“Who cares? Those Frye twins and their so called gang have been a pain in the arse for too long now.”   
“That’s it! I know what we can do.”  
The Blighters all looked expectantly at their comrade who was smirking.   
“This Robert asked us to hurt Evie Frye but not kill her. So we blackmail him, either he gives is what we are owed or she dies.”  
Smirks worked its way onto the other Blighters’ faces, they liked the idea. The Blighter who’d purposed the plan stood up.   
“Well, shall we go capture a certain Miss Frye?”   
The remaining Blighters stood up, almost simultaneously, and nodded. Together they left the warehouse, one way or the other they would get their money. No matter the cost.

* * *

Evie wasn’t sure what she should do now, she had nowhere to go. She couldn’t go back to the train as her brother would be there and he was the last person she wanted to see right now apart from Robert. Jacob had made his choice, he chosen Robert. After everything they had been through, he’d thrown in all away. Evie shook her head as she headed down the street, she wasn’t really aware of where her feet where taking her. As hard as she tried she found that it was difficult to stop being angry with her brother. But she still held on to the notion that he wasn’t acting of his own free will but she still had no proof of that which infuriated her further. There had to be some way to prove her suspicion but she wasn’t sure how to do it. Evie rubbed her tired eyes, she hadn’t slept in days and it seemed exhaustion why starting to catch up with her. But she could not allow this, there was not time to sleep she had things to do. Well, the first thing was probably to work out where she could base herself. The train was out of the question and she did not fancy sleeping in an alleyway. Perhaps she could go to Henry’s shop and ask him for shelter but for some reason she was anxious about doing that. What would he think of her? Without her knowing her cheeks had flushed slightly at the thought of sleeping in the same building as Henry. A movement in front of her brought her thoughts of a certain Henry Green. Two Blighters were standing in front of her looking at her with a rather nasty grin. Evie stopped and gazing at the calmly but her gaze also said that she’d kill them if they got any closer. 

“You’re going to come with us Miss Frye.” One of the Blighters said, smirking at her.   
Evie said nothing, but she extended both her hidden blades which sent a clear message to the Blighters. The Blighters seemed to ignore the message she’d sent them as they began to move towards her. Evie held her ground, she was not afraid of the Blighters and two of them were not a problem for her. She’d killed two of them about an hour ago who had also thought they could best her.

The Blighters were pulling out blades as they got closer to her, but she hadn’t moved. She held her ground, preparing herself for a fight. Watching them approach gave her the opportunity to observe how they moved which would enable her to exploit their weaknesses. They got closer and closer but then another sound caught Evie’s attention. The sound of running footsteps. Evie turned to look at the person sprinting towards her. It was another Blighter who’d been trying to sneak up behind her. Extracting a throwing knife from her jacket she launched it in the direction of the approaching Blighter before blocking the incoming strike from the other Blighter behind her. Kicking the Blighter away from her Evie tried to pull out her cane sword but she had no time to do so as the Blighter who tried to sneak up on her, apparently, the throwing knife in his shoulder wasn’t bothering him, brought his blade down. Once again Evie tried to use her hidden blade to deflect the strike but she did not quite get the blade there in time. The opposing blade sliced through the clothing on her right arm and through the skin underneath creating a deep, diagonal wound across her forearm. Blooding burst from the wound and poured down her arm. Instinctively Evie pulled her arm back and pressed into her chest, feeling blood seep in her jacket. Evie threw a look over her shoulder and saw more Blighters charging towards her. There was no way she could fight them all off with one hand. She’d have to make a break for it. If she could run out of the alley perhaps she could find the Rooks who could help her. The Blighter behind her pulled back for another strike but before he could so anything Evie plunged her left hidden blade into the other shoulder. The Blighter fell like a stone and Evie ran. She jumped over the fallen Blighter and sprinted back up the alleyway. It was a good thing that her previous injuries from the Blighters had healed, specifically the wound to her leg otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to run as quick. But then again she should have realised that the Blighters wouldn’t have let this happen again.

It happened in a matter of seconds. As she came to the entrance of the alleyway she’d thrown a look over her shoulder to see where the pursing Blighters were. Something had suddenly been shoved over her head and an arm clamped round her neck. Next thing she knew she was on the floor with a bag over her head and someone holding her down. She had no doubt that it was the Blighters. Before she could move her arm to try and stab the man, at least she assumed it was a man, with her blade the other Blighters had caught up and her arm were forced behind her back and roughly tied together. There was little she could do now. How could she have been so stupid? She should have seen this coming. Although she could not see anything she heard the sound of an approaching horse and she was soon forced to her feet and shoved in the back of what she assumed was a carriage. She was not going to allow herself to be captured, there had to be something she could do. Well, her feet her free. Evie feel still for a moment, trying to let her hearing locate who was around her. The Blighters had started talking although she wasn’t paying attention to what they were saying. She heard the carriage door open again, there was a possibility she might be able fall out of the carriage. She could only pray that then someone would spot the commotion and raise the alarm. But just as soon as she’d kicked the Blighter she could heard on her left side, something hard was slammed into her head and the world went black.

The Blighters raced off up the street cheering in success. But they failed to notice that a man dressed in a green shirt had seen the whole thing. The Rook watched the carriage zoom away, his face was pale. He had seen what had happened but he couldn’t help. There was no chance he could have fought the Blighters off on his own, even if he managed to free Miss Frye. If only he’d got there in time maybe he could have taken out the Blighter who been waiting to shove the bag over Miss Frye’s head. He tried to get to him but it all happened so fast. But there was something he could do now. He had to tell the Rooks and Jacob as fast as he could.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay!   
> I can only access AO3 from cafes now... my home internet has blocked AO3 for some reasons... -.-


	18. Chapter 18

The Rook ran as fast as he could looking for either Jacob or any other Rooks. But so far, he could not find anyone. Why was it when something serious happened there was no one around? He ran flat out searching for anyone who could help. After what seemed like hours he rounded a corner and bumped into a group of three Rooks.   
“Rupert, what are you doing?” One of the Rooks asked, pulling the fallen Rook to his feet.  
“Quick, you have to come.” Rupert panted, “Miss Frye has been taken by the Blighters. I don’t know where they have gone but we have to find her.”  
They didn’t need to know anymore, they began running back up the street following Rupert. They had made it half way up the next street when a very familiar person came into view who’d just emerged from a shop.   
“Boss!” The Rooks called.  
Jacob looked up and saw a group of seven Rooks running towards him. He seemed surprised to see them and the Rooks could not deny it was unusual to see the Boss without Robert.   
“What’s the rush boys?” He asked.  
“It’s your sister.” Rupert said, he was still panting, “She’s been taken by the Blighters. We’re on our way to rescue her, you’d best come with us.”   
They had expected him to immediately demand to know where she’d been taken but he didn’t. He didn’t look bothered at all. He just stood there wearing a rather blank expression on his face. For a moment he said nothing but then he spoke.   
“She’ll be fine, I’ve got things to do so… just leave her she’ll be fine.”   
Without another word he walked away leaving the Rooks standing staring after him. The Rooks looked at each other. All of them were wearing expression of confusion, why was the boss refusing to help his own sister?  
“We can’t leave her.” Rupert said, “We have to go and help her. She’s right about the Boss something is not right with him.”   
“You’re right. Let’s save Miss Frye and then we can save the Boss.” Another said, “Come.”

* * *

Her head hurt, why was her head hurting? Evie’s eyes flickered slightly as she tried to open her eyes. Why were her arms underneath her and why could she feel blood? Questions kept popping into her head as consciousness returned to her. Forcing her eyes open saw a wooden ceiling above her, was she in a warehouse? She tried moving her arms but found that they were tied together, that the sharp pain which exploded from her right arm. Followed by the warmth of blood sleeping into her back. That was when it all came flooding back to her about the Blighters. She tried to let out a breath but found that something was in her mouth. Rather limited investigation soon showed her that the Blighters had gagged her. If Evie was the type of person to swear then she would have. She could not make any noise but at least she could see. Probably if she had not been able to see then that could have shaken her but lucky it was not the case. Evie could see that she was being held in a room, there was a large brown door nearby which was open by a millimetre. Voices were floating into the room. She could not quite hear what they were saying but maybe if she got closer then she would be able to.

It proved rather difficult to move over towards the door as it was difficult to stand up with her arms tied behind her back, it threw her balance off. She had managed to almost stand but fell backwards landing on her right arm. Luckily, for her, she was unable to make a noise due to the gag as it blocked her cry of pain. She managed to move the rest of the way to the door, with her back resting against the wall Evie slowed her breathing. If she was going to try and hear what was going on outside the door she couldn’t be distracted by how much pain she was in.   
“He’s late.” A Blighter was grumbling, “Why is it we have to be on time to meet him but when it’s him meeting us he’s allowed to be late?”   
“I say we just kill her now and then demand all the money from him.”   
“No we need her alive for now. If we kill her now then he might just refuse giving us the money we are due.”  
Evie was gazing around the room she was being held in as she listened. She’d spotted a few large bags near to where she’d regained consciousness, there was a word on the bags which read ‘Coal’. It must mean she was being held in a coal factory, this was not where she’d expected the Blighters to have their base but they had little choice nowadays. Along the opposite wall there was a large hole and Evie could just see a metal tube behind it. The hole looked big enough for a person to fit through. She couldn’t help but wonder what that was used for. Her attention snapped back to the Blighters when she heard a new and familiar voice.   
“Well boys, I must say this is a rather odd place to hang out.”   
There was no mistaking who that voiced belonged to.   
“Now, what is this all about?” Robert asked.  
Evie’s blood boiled, so Robert was working with the Blighters. It took a great deal of effort to force herself to calm down when all she wanted to do was confront Robert. But there was no way she could judging by the fact she was quite literally tied up.   
“What’s this all about?” A Blighter was saying, “I think you should know why we have called you here?”   
“Nope, I honestly don’t have a clue.” Robert’s sarcastic and teasing was clear in his voice.  
“This is no joke.” A Blighter growled.  
Robert’s tone changed, “Well what is this then? You have upheld your end of our deal and I’ve been doing the same.”   
“But that’s not true is it. Where is the cash you promised us?”  
Robert had fallen silent, he seemed to not know what to say. The silence filled the room for a few long moments. Evie took the opportunity to glance round the doorframe to confirm that it was defiantly Robert standing there. Robert was wearing an expression which made it difficult to work out what he was thinking.   
“You were given your cash for hurting Evie Frye. But no more shall come to you unless she is captured.”   
“We have her, she tied up in that room behind us and unless you hand over what you owe we will kill her.”   
“No.” Robert said, rather quickly, “You can’t kill her that was not part of our deal.”  
He could not decide whether the Blighters were lying to him but perhaps confronting them on this was not a good idea. If they really had captured Evie Frye he could not risk them killing her before he’d done his part.  
“Then bring Jacob Frye here and give us the cash. You are in control of him are you not?”   
“Yes, Jacob will do anything I tell him to but I don’t remember you lot being in control of this. I paid you, you work for me.”

Evie looked away, she’d heard enough. Everything she had feared was true, Robert had been lying to them. He’d paid the Blighters to hurt her and he was controlling Jacob. She had to get out of here, she had to warn Jacob. Her eyes fell on the large hole in the wall opposite her. Was that a way out or did it just lead to a deep pit that’d she’d never get out of. She would have sighed if she could, there was only one way to find out where this tunnel went. She moved, very ungracefully, across to the hole and stared into it. It was dark, that all she could make out. Her eagle vision told her nothing either, not that she had really expected it to. Over her shoulder, Evie could still her Robert and the Blighters talking. It was now or never. She climbed into the hole feet first, her wounded arm screamed at her as she was forced to put pressure on it. She’d not even climbed fully in when she slid down the long tunnel. The tunnel was pitch black and the journey was far from smooth. Faster and faster she slid until she was thrown out the end of the tunnel and landed hard on a pile of discarded coal. Black dust was thrown into the air as she landed and once again Evie was glad that the cloth in her mouth prevented her making a sound as once again her injured arm screamed. Blood was still seeping from the wound, she could feel it soaking into the back of her jacket.

Evie attempted to pull the gag off, she ended up having to use her shoulder to pull the cloth off her face before spitting out the piece which had been shoved in her mouth. Taking a few deep breaths through her now ungagged mouth she didn’t move, she was waiting for the pain in her arm to recede. But she couldn’t stop for long, she still had to free her arms and get to Jacob. She knew that she could not use her hidden blades to cut through the rope and she could not move her wrist to engage the blade, she’d have to find something else. She somehow managed to stand and stumble across the piles of coal. She hadn’t made it far when she lost her footing and fell. She let out a groan as once again her injured arm protested. But a second later Evie heard a voice.  
“Miss Frye!”   
Looking up a wave of relief hit her, four Rooks were running towards her. The first one to reach her immediately went behind her and began releasing the ropes which bound her arms together.   
“Miss Frye, are you alright?” One of the Rooks asked.   
“Yes, but we need to get away from here. The Blighters are in there and so is Robert.”   
“Robert? He’s working with the Blighters.”   
Evie nodded, “I have to find Jacob, have you seen him?”   
There was a pause as the Rooks glanced at each other and Evie’s arms finally became free. She gazed down at her right arm, blood was still pouring from the wound. Clamping her left hand over the wound and pressing her injured arm close to her chest, she got to her feet.   
“Miss Frye, we met the Boss on our way here. I told him that I’d seen you get captured but he… he refused to help us.”   
Evie sighed, it didn’t surprise her. Not after what she had just learnt.   
“That doesn’t surprise me, but I still have to find him. Can you show me where you last saw him and I will track him from there?”   
The Rooks nodded and led her away from the warehouse. Evie followed close behind them, time was short. She had to find her twin before Robert could hurt him. She would find Jacob, ensure he was safe and then take Robert down. Enough was enough.

 


	19. Chapter 19

The doors of the warehouse burst open and Robert stormed out of them. He was wearing a rather frightening expression on his face. He’d been discovered, his real motive had been discovered by the one person who had been supposedly been in the Blighter’s hands. He’d wanted to see her for himself to confirm what the Blighters had told him. But when he’d entered the room all he had seen was a small pool of blood on the floor and blood marks on the door frame. He’d also spotted a large hole with a tunnel behind. It had left no question in his mind of what had happened. Evie Frye had overheard what he’d said to the Blighters and then escaped. She had to be tracked down and fast. He had worked for too long for it all to go up in flames. Before he stormed out of the warehouse the Blighters had received an ear full, why they thought locking an Assassin up in a room with a very obvious escape route was a good idea? Although he could not claim to not much about Assassins he did know that they were pretty good at finding escape routes. Robert let out a breath, he had to fix this and fast.

* * *

The light had faded and night had drawn in. The station was quite apart from a handful of people. Evie and the four Rooks had spotted the train hideout in an instant. The Rooks walked towards the carriage of the train where they knew other Rooks would be, the bar. Whereas Evie had stopped, her gaze had fallen on a window of Jacob’s carriage. She sighed, she should have guessed that Jacob would most likely be on the train, where else would he be when he was not following Robert around. She could see him through the window of the train although he had not seen her, he seemed to be preoccupied with something she could not see. Heading towards the train Evie took a glance down at her injured arm, it was still bleeding. She let out a pained breath, it seemed that wound was a lot deeper then she’d originally thought. It was time to confront her brother and then she’d attend to her injury. She could also do with some rest seeing as she’d not slept properly in over a week but there was no time. They had to deal with Robert and end his plan. She walked towards the carriage, she was still holding her right arm close to her chest.

Upon entering the carriage, she saw the Angus’ desk was unoccupied, she must have gone for the night. At the other end of the carriage, standing by the bookshelves was Jacob. It wasn’t clear what he was looking at something which Evie could not see. Whatever he was looking at was hidden behind the huge flower pot.  
“Jacob?”   
Jacob looked up but he did seem relieved to see her, as he’d known she’d been captured, neither did he seemed concerned that she was covered in blood from her arm. In fact, his face was void of any emotion. He was just looking at her with a rather blank expression on his face.   
“Jacob, I need to talk to you. It’s about Robert”   
Jacob’s expression didn’t change, he just continued to stare at her. Evie approached her brother, she was gazing intently at him. She needed to get if to understand how serious the situation was. But as she drew level with the plant pot she discovered what Jacob had been staring at or rather who he’d been staring at. Knelt down, looking up at her, wearing an awfully smug expression was Robert. Evie glared as Robert straightened up, folding his arms. How on earth had he got there before she had?   
“Well look who it is.” He leered, “The fun police and by the looks of things someone else found you as bitchy as we do and finally did something about it.”   
“You should know exactly who did this to me.” Evie countered, narrowing her eyes.  
Robert spread his hands out in an innocent gesture, “I honestly have no idea.”  
Evie’s patience was running thin, “Cut the crap Robert, tell Jacob the truth.”   
“But Jacob knows the truth. He knows what’s going on just ask him.”   
Evie lost her patience, she was not going to be drawn into a conversation. Her left hidden blade extended threateningly, her eyes never left Robert’s face. At this moment, Jacob stepped in between Robert and Evie but he was still wearing that blank expression. Evie could not be sure whether he was aware of what was going on.   
“If he knows the truth then tell him,” Evie said, “Tell Jacob how he’s being controlled and how you paid the Blighters to kill me.”   
“He’d never believe you because that’s a lie. A lie to try and turn Jacob against me.”   
“Robert won’t hurt anyone Evie.” Jacob finally spoke but it wasn’t his normal voice, “Now I suggest you calm down and stop lying. I’m not going to let you hurt my friend. He has never lied to me.”

Evie stared at her brother, his facial expression was changing but to what she could not quite work out yet.   
“Listen to yourself Jacob. Listen to what you are saying. Robert is controlling you, he’s been lying this whole time. He paid the Blighters to kill me and controlling you so he can kill you too. That promise he made all those years ago he is fulling now, he’s going to kill you Jacob.”  
Jacob’s feature was slowly twisting in what Evie could now see was anger. Perhaps she was getting through to him.   
“This is not the man who you drank with and played cards with.” She pressed on, “This is the man who vowed to kill us. He’s deceived you and it’s time we dealt with him. Come on Jacob, listen to me. I know that you are in there but whatever Robert has done to you is clouding your judgement.”   
Jacob’s fists were trembling.   
“Don’t listen to her Jacob.” Robert was now saying, “She’s trying to turn you against me. She is the liar here not me.”   
Anger continued to build inside Jacob as the other two continued to plead their case. It soon turned to just noise as Jacob’s anger get stronger. He was angry with one of them, angry about the lies they had told. He despised liars, especially in those he thought he could trust. A small voice in his head was pleading with him to listen to one voice, the voice who had never lied to him but that small voice was not strong enough to take control. His anger was about to boil over it was going to be directed at one person. He’d had enough now. He grabbed hold of the person’s right arm and delivered a hard punch across the side of their face. Jacob watched as the person stumbled backwards from the force of his punch, collided with the bookshelf and fell to the floor where various books consequently fell from the shelf and landed on her. Jacob panted hard and glared down at his sister. But as he watched her on the ground something inside him broke. It was as though he’d put his fist through a mirror. What had he just done?

On the floor, Evie pushed herself onto her knees. Out of instinct she’d put her right hand out to break her fall and was paying for that. The flow of blood coming from her right arm had increased again, she could fell the colour draining from her face. Putting her other hand to her cheek she saw blood clinging to her glove. What had just happened? Jacob had hit her, he’d punched her. He had never ever done that before. Even during their training he’d refrained from hitting her and she had done the same. She looked up at him, considered that unreadable expression. She tried so hard to convince herself that this wasn’t Jacob, this wasn’t her brother as her brother would never hurt her. She was brought out of her thoughts by a tutting sound. Robert was looking rather impressed with the situation.   
“How the mighty have fallen, see what happened there? Your brother just put you in your place.”  
Evie wasn’t prepared to listen to this. She had to get away and think of her next move. She couldn’t save Jacob, not like this.   
“Now listen her you bitch.” Robert was saying, although it was a whisper only the two of them could hear it, “Don’t you ever try this stunt again because next time I will kill you and make you watch as I then kill your precious brother whilst you lie powerless to intervene. So, if you value your brother’s life, get out of here and don’t look back.”   
Robert had crouched in front of her, his dark eyes glaring at her. Evie was glaring back. She did not respond to threats, she was not scared of him. But he was right, for the moment she had to get away. Get away and make a plan. A smirk crossed her face, which seemed to confuse Robert. Her hidden blade was still extended. In a quick movement she plunged the blade into Robert. The blade burrowed deep into Robert’s forearm. As Robert pulled away his face twisted in pain Evie threw herself from the room and disappeared into the night. Robert spun round, he was going to make her pay for that, he’d make her own brother kill her. But to his dismay Jacob had vanished. Robert swore loudly throwing a nearby book across the carriage. It seemed that everything was falling apart.

* * *

Henry rubbed his eyes as he leaned against the counter in his shop. He was glancing through a book for a reason he could not remember now. He was just thinking about replacing the book and heading to bed when the door opened. Upon seeing who had just entered his shop Henry dropped the book and walked over to her. 

“Evie, what’s happened?”   
Evie was covered in blood. Her left cheek was covered in bright red blood from a wound which seemed to have recently been inflicted. Her coat was stained with blood but the source of that blood was, he soon discovered, was from her right arm which was completely stained with red blood some fresh some not. Her face was pale, colour was rapidly leaving her. It looked as though she was going to collapse at any moment, what the hell had happened to her?   
“Robert’s controlling Jacob.” Evie said.   
She stumbled past Henry and began pacing.   
“What?” Henry spluttered, not entirely sure what was going on, “I know that something very odd is going on but I don’t think-“   
“I heard him Henry.” Evie interrupted, still pacing, “I was captured by the Blighters and they took me to their hideout. Robert came to meet them. I heard what he said. Robert has been paying the Blighters to kill me and admitted that he was controlling Jacob. I escaped and tried to talk to Jacob but he did this to me.” She indicated her cheek. “He’s in trouble Henry, I have to save him but without knowing how he’s being controlled I don’t know where to start.”   
There was a pause and Henry’s eyes fell upon the halogenic dart loaded in Evie’s assassin gauntlet. Suddenly it came flying back to him, what he had just been reading in that book.  
“What about the halogenic darts? In a high enough concentration, typically a liquid form they could completely control someone.” He said.   
“But the effects of that wear off?”  
“Not if administer at regular intervals.”   
Evie’s eyes lit up and she stopped pacing, “Robert always makes Jacob’s drinks. He must be putting it in there. So, I just need to keep Jacob away from Robert long enough for the effects to wear off.”  
Henry took a step towards her, he knew what he was going to say next. She couldn’t go after Jacob now, she needed to rest.  
“Evie, you need to rest. You haven’t slept in days and you need those wounds to be looked after.”   
Evie shook her head, “These no time. Robert is threatening to kill Jacob. I have to get to him before it’s too late.”   
“At least let me take a look at those wounds then we’ll go together.”   
Once again Evie shook her head but Henry knew that nature was about to intervene. He could see the colour had left her face and judging by the look of her eyes it wouldn’t be long before her body pulled her from the world. Even for a Master Assassin the mixture of sleep deprivation and injuries would catch up eventually and send one into the blissful realm on unconsciousness.   
“I have to save him.” Evie was saying.   
“And you will,” Henry said, moving towards her, “But let’s get you sorted first.”   
She looked at him and made to say something else but exhaustion finally caught up with her, Evie’s eyes fluttered shut. Henry caught her as fell just as the door to the shop burst open again.

 


	20. Chapter 20

Henry lowered himself and the limp Evie to the ground as he turned to see who had just entered his shop. He sighed in relief as he saw two Rooks entered the shop, he’d been expecting Blighters or even Robert. The two Rooks looked down at the sight of Miss Frye sprawled on the floor. Rupert, having heard the commotion from the carriage, had gone to investigate. All he’d seen was Miss Frye running away from the train and no sight of either Jacob or Robert.

“I saw Miss Frye running from the train. What can we do to help?” He asked, watching as Mister Green gently lifted Miss Frye so her head and shoulders were supported on his lap.

“There’s not much time.” Henry said, “Both Evie’s and Jacob’s lives are in danger.”

“Miss Frye mentioned that Robert was not who he said he is.” Rupert replied.

Henry gently picked up Evie’s right arm, inspecting the wound there, “Miss Frye needs rest but I highly doubt she will stay unconscious for long. Knowing her as soon as she wakes she will want to find Jacob. Until then you must keep Jacob and Robert apart. Robert must not find Jacob until the twins are together, this is family business.”

The Rooks nodded, watching as Henry carefully removed Evie’s coat exposing the wound to her forearm. The wound was still bleeding, he needed to the tend to the wound. Henry got to his feet, gently sweeping Evie up into his arms.

“You must keep Robert and Jacob apart. But do not tell either of them where Evie is, even if they ask. Robert will kill her and Jacob... he cannot see her like this.”

The two Rooks nodded before hurrying from the shop while Henry moved along the back passage into his living room with Evie in his arms. He had to kick the door open, he did not want to risk causing her any further harm. Moving over to the small sofa he gently lay Evie down before hurrying back to the shop where he locked the front door and pick up Evie’s coat. He had a suspicion that someone else might turn up whether that be Robert, Jacob or even the Blighters he was not sure.

 

Re-joining the still unconscious Evie he set the work cleaning up her wounds. Whilst the wound to her cheek was rather a nasty graze but he believed it should heal up nicely. The wound to her forearm was a different. It was long and deep wound which still bleeding, albeit sluggishly. It was highly likely that she could end up with a permanent mark, but it just it could be worse. He did not expect any reaction from her whilst he tended to her wounds. She had not slept properly in days and her injuries had taken its toll. But she would wake soon, her worry for her brother would rouse her soon enough. As Henry bandaged Evie’s arm, he heard a large bang on the front door. He had known that someone would turn up, if he had to guess it would probably be Jacob. Whoever was outside was apparently very impatient to come in as the banging came within quick succession of each other. In fact Henry was surprised that whoever was banging hadn't broken their hand due to the intensity of the bangs. But he had to tend to Evie first, whoever it was could wait.

 

Once he’d finished bandaging the younger Assassin’s wound, Henry carefully left the room ensuring he closed the door behind him. Moving back into the shop he saw who was banging on the shop door. Jacob was practically pushing himself against the window, staring at Henry. He was soaking wet, apparently it was raining outside. Henry tried to make his face as neutral as possible, he did not want Jacob to know Evie was here. Although he had not seen what had happened between them, he did not want Jacob to be near Evie until she was conscious. He did not know what might happen especially since it was highly possible that Jacob would still be under the influence of the halogenic potion that Robert had been giving him. Turning the lock, Henry opened the door. Jacob fell over the threshold, landing in a heap on the mat. He quickly straightened himself and faced Henry.

“Where is she?”

“Where is who?” Henry asked, adopting a fake look of confusion.

“You know bloody well who,” Jacob snapped, “Where is my sister? And don’t you play dumb with me, I know that Evie would have come here.”

Henry folded his arms, “Fine I admit she did come here. She told me what happened Jacob, how could you?”

 

Jacob had begun pacing, in that moment he could not have looked more like his twin. Funny how they both paced in an identical style. Henry watched him carefully, though he admitted Evie had come to the shop he would not disclose that she was still here.

“I didn’t meant to.” Jacob mumbled, “I mean I did but I didn’t.. No I did… No I didn’t.”

Jacob let out a shout of frustration, he’d stopped pacing. Henry could see his hands appeared to be trembling.

“I have to find her I have to teach her a lesson… wait no I need to apologise.”

Henry watched as Jacob put his hands in front of his face, he could not be sure what was happening to him. He seemed to be swinging from wanting to hurt Evie to wanting to apologise to her. At a guess, Henry guessed that Jacob was coming off the effects of the halogenic solution Robert had been giving him.  It was still too risky to let Jacob near Evie, she was already weak and Henry was not going to put her in danger.

“Jacob, I don’t know what is going on but you are not yourself.” Henry said, watching the younger twin closely, “The Jacob I know would never hurt his sister even when she’s really annoyed him. He would never hurt her. Someone has been playing with you, controlling what you do and I know that it is not your sister.”

“I have to find her, Henry. Where did she go?”

“I don’t know. She came here, I tended to her wounds and then she left. She never said where she was going.”

It was not possible for Henry to guess what Jacob was thinking, his face was a picture of conflicting emotions. His expression changed so frequently that Henry had no time to name the emotions that appeared on his face. After a long pause Jacob finally spoke.

“If she comes back, tell her I’m looking for her.”

Without another word Jacob left the shop, closing the door with a sharp click. The Indian Assassin was left feeling slightly alarmed. He could not tell whether that was a threat or not. Although it had certainly sounded like a threat. Walking to the door he watched as Jacob strolled away down the street. This was one fine mess they had got themselves into and at the moment the way out was unclear to him.

 

Henry continued to look out of the shop door long after he’d lost sight of Jacob. He watched the rain fall onto the ground lost in thought. But a sound behind him made him look round. It was not a surprise to see who was behind him. Evie still looked incredibly pale and the exhaustion was still clear but she was awake.

“I didn’t think you’d be out for long.” Henry said, a small smile of his face.

Evie returned the smile weakly before speaking;

“Thank you, Henry, for that and for this.” She indicated her bandaged arm, “I don’t know how I can make it up to you.”

Henry waved her off, “You didn’t need to thank me Evie, I am just glad I was here to help.”

There was a few moments of silence as Evie pulled on her coat before she spoke again.

“I have to find Jacob.”

“Funny you should say that because he was here a matter of moments ago.”

When Evie just stared at him he continued,

“I did not tell him you were here, I said that you’d come and gone. But he was not himself. He kept switching between wanting to hurt you and wanting to apologise to you.”

The elder twin looked away for a moment, Henry caught a glimpse of distress enter her eyes. He could tell that she desperately wanted to help her brother. Although only a few seconds passed it seemed much longer than that but finally Evie spoke.

“I have to find him.”

Henry nodded, knowing that nothing could possibly stop her, “I’ll round up the Rooks while you search. We’ll keep the Blighters at bay until Robert is dealt with.”

Evie nodded, pulling her hood up she made for the shop door but paused before exiting.

“Thank you, Henry.” She placed her hand for a moment on his forearm, “I mean it.”

Then she was gone, disappeared into the night. For a moment Henry just stood rooted to the spot, a small smile on his face but then he too left the shop.

* * *

Jacob had somehow found himself in yard behind several tall buildings. He was stood staring at his hands as rain continued to pour down. He felt like he had suddenly emerged from the grips of someone and had regained control of his life. But what had he done? How could he have pushed Evie aside for Robert? As he looked back on the last few weeks he could now see how Robert had been manipulating his every thought and action. How could he have just ignored his twin especially when she’d been hurt. He could remember how she had looked mere hours ago on the train. Covered in blood and exhausted. She had been desperately trying to show Jacob how he’d been controlled. How could he have just ignored her? How could he had punched her? He’d hurt her, something which he had promised himself never to do. Jacob rubbed his face in his hands, where was she? What if she had left London? What if it was too late to find her?

“Jacob.”

A voice brought Jacob out of his thoughts. Turning he found that the person standing a few metres away from him was not the person he wanted to see.

 

Robert was looking at him, a serious expression on his face. Anger filled him, it was because of this man that his twin sister had vanished.

“What do you want?” Jacob snapped, folding his arms.

“Well I see that the effects of the solution I have been giving you have worn off.”

“Yes It has. Me and you need to have a chat Robert. What the hell did you do to me?

“Surely you should know by now seeing as you have come to your senses.”

Jacob squared up to Robert, “Yes I do you bastard. But I want answers. Why would you go to such lengths when you could have just killed me and Evie?”

Robert smirked, “Because it was more fun this way. I wanted to you drive a your sister away then I watch make her watch you suffer and die before killing her too.”

Jacob’s fist had connected with the side of Robert’s face before he really knew what was happening. But the recipient of the punch did not stand down for long. A fight broke out. But it did not last long, the halogenic solution may have worn off but it had left Jacob weak. He was thrown to the ground by the advancing Robert. Pushing himself backwards he admitted to stand but found that a nearby wall stopped his retreat. Robert had also stopped advancing, he was a couple of metres from Jacob looking at him with a look of satisfaction. Robert pulled out a revolver from his inside coat pocket and pointed it at Jacob.

“Well look where we are now old friend.” He sneered, “This wasn’t exactly how I planned that you’d met your end. But I am still making good on that promise I made to you. Time to die Jacob.”

Jacob was not willing to accept that this was his end, this was not the way that Jacob Frye would meet his end. As his mind raced for a possible escape route his eyes were drawn upwards where they fell on a figure standing on the floor top behind Robert. A small smile crossed his face as his Eagle Vision revealed that figure to be an ally and he had an idea of the figures identity.

“Why the smile Jacob? As I see it you have no reason to be smiling.” Robert said, his finger tensing on the gun's trigger.

“Oh I do and you are about to find out why.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Muahaha! Cliff hanger! Well, I hope... I tried to end this multiple ways so I hope this ending has had the intended cliff hanger effect haha!


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy! Just before you dive into the story thought I'd say hi... HI! 
> 
> Ok, no seriously just a heads up that this chapter is rather long... I erm... well I wanted to get all of this into one chapter but it had come out quite long haha!  
> Also I had a lot of trouble with this chapter because I really wanted to get this right so I hope I did. 
> 
> Anyway.. Enjoy!

Sometimes it was best to act first and ask questions later, Robert learnt that lesson the hard way. Taken aback by his foe’s last sentence he paused, his grip on the gun loosen without his knowledge. His grip loosened for a mere matter of seconds, but that was all it took. As he just stared a Jacob a flash of silver darted across his vision. He felt a searing pain for his hand and, out of instinct, he pulled his bleeding hand close which caused him to drop the gun. He looked to his left he could see nobody but when he looked to the right something or rather someone dropped on top of him. The assailant kicked him hard in the shoulders, sending him crashing to the ground. Looking up Robert glared at the person he’d least expected to see, not after the encounter earlier. Evie was standing protectively in front of her brother, who seemed to be struggling to get to his feet.  
“Well you're full of surprises aren’t you Miss Frye.” He said, as he got to his feet.  
“I rarely do what’s expected of me.” Evie replied, folding her arms.  
“Why do you protect him? Have you forgotten what he did to you?”  
“I remember, but he’s still my brother and I will not allow you to harm him.”  
Robert sneered, “I don’t think you will be able to stop me, I can see in your eyes. You’re too weak. But if you like I shall take you down first. Then you will be able to watch me end your brother’s life whilst lying helpless in a pool of your own blood.”  
Evie only had a second to react as Robert launched himself at her, pulling a blade from his coat pocket which she had not realised he’d processed. She managed to deflect the first strike but narrowly missed the second. She was not so fortunate on the third strike, she should have known that Robert would play dirty. He grabbed hold of Evie’s injured arm, his blade slashed across his opponent causing blood to soak her already blood soaked coat. Fortunately, Evie’s instincts came to her rescue and although she had not been able to prevent the blow to her chest she had managed to move her body so that the blade cut through her right flank. She managed to pull out of his grip and tried prepared herself to strike back but someone or rather someone get there first. Jacob had tackled Robert to the ground where once again the two exchanged punches once more. 

The pair thrashed around on the floor neither of them willing to show weakness. But just as Evie came running over to help, Jacob managed to pin Robert to the ground. With his hands braced on his enemy’s shoulders, preventing movement, Jacob glared at the man.  
“It’s over Robert, finished. You will leave London and we shall never set eyes on you again.”  
Robert was glaring straight back at Jacob, but although he was refusing to respond to Jacob that did not mean he was beaten.  
“I should kill you.” Jacob was saying, “You tried to kill me. You paid the Blighters to kill my sister.  
Unbeknownst to either of the Frye Twins Robert’s hand was moving. Jacob was staring intently at Robert’s face and Evie had taken a moment to try and stop her wound bleeding.  
“The only reason I shall spare your life today is for old time’s sake. After all that we had growing up. But if I ever set eyes on you again, I will kill you.”  
Robert smirked, “Not if I kill you first.”  
But either of the twins could react there was a loud bang and a cry of pain. Jacob staggered backwards, he almost fell but his twin caught him in the nick of time. Blood was pouring from his abdomen. Robert had got to his feet, he was backing away from the twins with a victorious look on his face.  
“After all these years Jacob. You haven’t changed. You are still the naïve idiot that I once saw as a friend.”  
With that Robert disappeared. Jacob glanced at his hand, it was covered in blood. That was the final straw, Jacob should have known that Robert would have gone down fighting. He had to die.  
“Go after him Evie, before he gets away.”  
Evie stared down at her twin, “No I can’t do that now, we have to get you some help.”  
Jacob shook his head, “No. Go. I’m fine, I will follow in a moment but we can’t let him get away.”  
To try and provide his point Jacob stumbled to his feet. With a hand still pressed to his bleeding abdomen he looked at her.  
“Go.”  
Evie hesitated her eye locked on her brother but when he once again insisted that she go, she complied. 

Running for the alley which Robert had retreated down she soon came to the street. Pausing for a second she used her Eagle Vision to search for any sign of Robert. All she could see was a glimpse of red as it dashed up the road. She gave chase, running as fast of her battered body would let her. Her body was screaming but she had to carry on, she could not let the man escape. Ahead of her Robert was darting down an alleyway, in an attempt to shake Evie from his trail. But she was not going to allow this. Robert had the speed as in her current state she would be unable to run as fast as normal, but she was clever and Robert always underestimated her. Evie pulled one of her throwing knives from the inside pocket of her jacket and expertly threw it at Robert. The blade was not intended to kill Robert, instead it sliced through Robert’s right leg causing him to stumble. This was enough to allow Evie to catch up. Drawing her cane sword from the inside of her coat she made to deliver a blow to Robert, the games were over, however the latter was expecting this. Ducking Robert swiped the legs Hof his opponent causing her to fall to the ground. Leaping forwards, he dragged Evie to her feet but her hair and held his own blade across her throat. He pressed the blade ever so slightly causing a bead of blood to trickle down from her neck.  
“You know Evie, I was wrong about something.” He panted, “I shouldn’t have paid the Blighters to kill you. Firstly, they did a terrible job but secondly this is far more fun.”  
He did not give her the opportunity to speak. Using all his strength he threw Evie as far as he could. Evie may have been a Master Assassin but her lean and slender build was her downfall in this situation. Evie could not do anything to stop what happened. She was thrown into a wooden wagon where the her left side collided painfully with the wagon. She crumpled to the ground as the wagon was knocked backwards into some scaffolding which collapsed. Wood and metal rained down on Evie and soon she was trapped underneath what remained of both wagon and scaffolding. Although Evie was unaware of this, she had been thrown back into the blissful realm of unconsciousness.

Robert was advancing towards the wooden wreckage intent on finishing Evie for good but he stopped when he heard a voice behind him. Turning, he was genuinely surprised to see the younger of the Frye Twins standing there. Jacob’s coat was stained with blood which was still oozing from the wound that Robert had inflicted. But there was something in his eyes, a look which said that he was not finished yet. Jacob’s gaze flicked between Robert and the wreckage behind him. He’d seen what happened, he’d seen Evie being crushed beneath it. He had to finish this quickly and get her out of it.  
“Enough is enough Robert.” He said, drawing out his blade, “Let’s finish this.”  
Leaving no room for his opponent to say a word Jacob sprung forwards. Drawing his fist back he delivered a punch to Robert’s face which knocked the latter backwards. Robert immediately retaliated by attempting to deliver a strike of his own which was deflected by the Assassin. The two men fought what seemed like hours, neither willing to give the other the upper hand. But eventually the pure skill of the Master Assassin prevailed. They once more found themselves in the position they had been in mere minutes ago, with Jacob pinning Robert to the floor. However, this time Jacob made sure to not allow Robert the chance to escape. Extending his hidden blade, he plunged it into Robert’s shoulder. The blade pieced the delicate area of skin between shoulder and neck. A fatal strike. Jacob smirked down as bright red blood poured out of his once friend.  
“I’m not sure this is quite how you pictured this going.” Jacob said, moving to kneel next to Robert, “But you should have known that we are not defeated so easily.”  
“You’re right, this is not how I pictured this encounter going.” Robert replied weakly, “Although I will take comfort in knowing that I have fatally injured the both of you. I may be going first but you will soon follow.”  
Jacob stood, “If that’s what you want to believe then believe what you wish. I have nothing more to say to you. There is nothing to say. Goodbye Robert.”  
Robert glared at Jacob until the darkness swallowed him and his eyes closed for the final time. 

Jacob let out a sigh of relief, pressing a hand to his injury. Now that the danger had past he allowed his body to give into its pain. A grimace appeared on his face and he turned to face the wreckage that Evie was buried underneath. Trying to walk over to it turned out to be impossible when his knees gave out from under him. Falling to the ground Jacob let out a moan of pain. Closing his eyes Jacob tried his best to gain control of his pain. A noise in front of him made him look up. The wooden debris was moving. He watched with bated breath as some of the wood was pushed aside. His twin sister emerged from underneath the wreckage, she too was wearing a pained expression. Her face bore new cuts. She already had the wound to her right cheek from where Jacob had stuck her. But now on her left temple there was a nasty gaze which was bleeding although with other smaller cuts which all must have been inflicted when the scaffolding had collapsed. Evie yelped in pain as she pulled herself free from the wreckage.  
“Evie!” Jacob cried, weakly, “Are you alright?”  
He watched as she let out a pain breath. Evie let her façade finally fall and she shook her head.  
“I think I’ve broken a couple of ribs.” She said.  
“We’ve got to get out of here.” Jacob said.  
Evie nodded in agreement but neither of them moved. Both too tired and weak to attempt to stand. Evie had closed her eyes to try and combat the pain but Jacob was aware that he was losing consciousness. The toll of his injury was finally taking over. But he had to say something to his twin, there was something he needed to say to her.  
“Evie…” He said, weakly.  
She looked at him and immediately saw what was about to happen. Trying to ignore the pain she was feeling, Evie pulled herself across to her brother. Jacob’s gaze locked with her own.  
“Evie… I…”  
Jacob did not manage to finish that sentence before he was consumed by darkness. His eyes fluttered shut and his body when limp.  
“No.. Jacob!”  
Putting out a hand the elder twin shook her brother’s shoulder but it nothing to rouse him. Evie continued her efforts to rouse her brother despite knowing that there was nothing she could do. Gritting her teeth, she carefully rolled onto her back, her ribs felt like they were on fire. As much as she wanted to she could not just lie here. She had to get them both to safety but at the moment she could not see how. If she did not have a couple of broken ribs then she might have been able to drag Jacob to the street where hopefully the Rooks would find them. 

Evie could not tell how much time had passed as she lay there. It might have been hours for all she knew. But soon she became aware of approaching footsteps and a figure appeared in her eye line. Henry was looking down at her with a concerned expression.  
“We have to stop meeting like this.” He said.  
Evie smiled slightly and accepted the offered hand. With Henry’s help she managed to painfully pull herself into a sitting position. Upon sitting up she discovered that Henry wasn’t alone, a small handful of Rooks were also there. Henry moved over to Jacob, placing two fingers to his neck.  
“He’s not….” Evie tried to ask, but her voice failed her with the fear of potentially losing her brother.  
Much to her relief, Henry shook his head.  
“No he’s not, just unconscious. Now, come let’s get you two back to the train.”  
She watched as the Rooks carefully lifted Jacob and carried him away. Henry had moved back to her side where he helped her to his feet. But before leaving the alley Evie cast her eyes back to take a final look at Robert. He was motionless on the ground in a pool of his own blood. He was dead. It was over… it was finally over.


	22. Chapter 22

The next thing Jacob was aware of was warmth. Wherever he was it was really warm. He was content to stay where he was but as his mind remained him of what had just been happening his eyes snapped open. Where was Evie? Was she alright? He was staring up at the ceiling of the train, he assumed that Evie must have brought them here but where was she? The carriage as dark meaning he could not see much but he did see a figure standing up from the desk. But as the figure came closer he found it was not his sister. Henry was looking at him wearing a concerned expression.

“Jacob?”

“Henry, where’s Evie?

Henry seemed to let out a sigh of relief, “She’s next door. How are you feeling?”

It was Jacob’s turn to sign in relief. It was alright, his sister was alright. She was next door. She was safe.

“If I am honest I’m really sore but I’ve survived worse. How did we get back here?”

“I brought you back with the Rooks. We found the two of you in the alley. I tended to your wound, it should heal absolutely fine.”

“What about Evie? She’s injured too.”

Henry sighed again, “She is but she wouldn’t let me help her. As soon as she knew you were sorted she retreated into her carriage and hasn’t left since.”

Jacob frowned, that concerned him. It meant Evie was not alright. She was a private person, she wouldn’t show her distress to anyone but him. He knew that Evie was distressed, that was why she’d shut herself away. He had to see her. Swinging his legs off the sofa Jacob stood, he swayed slightly but managed to remain upright.

“Wait, Jacob! I don’t think you should –” Henry started but Jacob held up a hand.

“I have to see Evie.”

Henry made to speak again but Jacob shook his head.

“This is my fault Greenie, none of this should have happened but because it has is my fault. I need to make it up to my sister.”

At this Henry seemed to decide that it was better to say nothing. He watched as Jacob limped from the carriage.

 

As Jacob moved into the next carriage he put a hand to his wound. He could feel bandages under shirt, he tried to ignore the aching he felt. He had more important things to be concerned with. Moving into the next carriage he immediately spotted his twin. Evie was leaning against the doorframe at the other end of the carriage, staring out over London. Her arms were crossed and her hair loose. She’d stripped out of gear, which left her in shirt and trousers. She’d also removed her shoes. Jacob smiled sadly at her, her whole-body language showed her distress.

“Evie?”

Evie started, turning to look at Jacob. His concern for her grew when he saw her face. She was crying. But Evie never cried. The tears were mixing with the blood clinging to her face, there was dried blood on her neck for a shallow cut there. She’d not bothered to tend to her wounds by the looks of her. As she turned to face him, Jacob caught a glance of red blood staining the white shirt on her right side. He could also see her right arm was covered in blood. She opened her mouth to speak but found no words appeared. Instead she turned away clearly not liking that face that her brother had seen her in this state.

“Evie?” Jacob repeated, moving towards her, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Was the quiet reply.

Jacob didn’t believe that for a second, “You don’t look alright. We should tend to your injuries.”

Evie shook her head, “I’m fine, you are the one who should be tending to injuries. You’re in worse shape then I am.”

She was still not looking at him, instead she’d chosen a spot on the floor to stare at. Jacob was standing in front of her now. He placed his hands on her shoulders but she still, stubbornly, refused to look at him.

“Well thanks to Greenie I’ve been tended to so I believe it is your turn sister.”

“Stop it Jacob, I know what you’re doing.” She whispered, still refusing to look up. 

“Yes, I know you do. So, you know that I am trying to look after my big sister. After everything I have put her through, I owe her.”

More tears where falling from Evie’s eyes, “You owe me nothing.”

“No. I do. Had you not come after me I would be dead. You are the reason I am standing here right now. You are the reason I am alive and Robert is dead.”

Evie finally looked at him. He could feel her shoulder lose their tension. Her eyes were swimming with tears that she was trying desperately to stop anymore tears from falling. 

“There is something I need to say to you, Evie.” Jacob said, “I’m sorry. I am sorry for everything. I… I know that you must be angry at me because I hit you. But I didn’t... I didn’t mean to I just couldn’t stop myself.”

Evie was shaking her head, “You don’t have to –“

 “No I do. I have to apologise to you. I am sorry Evie and I promise never to do that again.”

 

Jacob did not allow his sister to say anymore instead he pulled her into a hug. He hear her let out a small hiss of pain but she returned the hug. They stayed like that for a while, both enjoying the comfort and warmth of the other. Until, eventually, Jacob broke the hug. He looked his sister over, taking in her injuries.

“Come, let’s sort you out and then you need to sleep. You’re exhausted.” Jacob said.

“I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can, but just this once let someone else take care of you.”

She thought about resisting for a second before allowing Jacob to steer her into the armchair. Jacob cleaned and dressed Evie’s wounds with a great deal of care. It was the least he could do after the way he had treated her over the last few weeks. As he gently cleaned the wound to her right arm, he noticed that she was trying her best to stay conscious. She was exhausted, the pair of the might be Assassins but they were still human and so had the need to sleep. Sleep was something that Evie had barely had over the past few weeks, the sooner she slept the better. The pair stayed silent as Jacob worked, they did not need to say anything. But as Jacob expertly wrapped a bandage round Evie’s arm that she spoke.

“I don’t know if I can sleep.”

Jacob looked up, frowning at her. It was almost as thought she'd read his mind, “What do you mean?”

She indicated her ribs, “I can’t lie on my left side because I’ve broken a few ribs and then Robert struck me on my other side..”

Jacob eyes lingered on Evie’s left side, he’d never broken a rib so he could not imagine what she was feeling. His eyes then locked on her right side where red blood stained the white shirt she was wearing.

“Maybe if I sort that wound you can lay on that side and take the pressure off your ribs?”

A pair of tired blue eyes locked with his and she slowly nodded. Evie pulled the bloodied shirt up just enough to expose the wound there. Jacob made short work of tending to the wound before helping his sister to clamber into bed and find a comfortable position to sleep in. She managed to lie on her right side in such a way which did not aggravate either the wound to her side or her ribs. Jacob seated himself on the edge of her bed, watching as she finally gave in to sleep.

 

Even after his twin had fallen asleep Jacob remained seated on the edge her bed. He was gazing at her, taking in every injury she bore. All the injuries she had was his fault, he may not have caused those injuries apart from the one she had on her cheek. But because he had not realised that Robert had been tricking him. If he had come to his senses sooner then maybe he might have prevented Evie from becoming this exhausted. The whole reasons she was like this was because of him. He gently pressed a kiss to his twin’s forehead.

“I’m sorry Evie, I am so sorry. But I promise that I will never let this happen again. Ever. No matter what the future holds, family comes first.”

Jacob settled himself in the armchair Evie had previously been in. It was not that he needed to stay there for Evie’s benefit. He just had no wish to be parted from his twin, not after what they had been through. He had meant what he said. From now on, his family came first. No matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that is it! The story is complete!   
> I hope that ending was ok, I really wanted to have the last chapter sort of dedicated to the twins reconciling. So I do hope it worked! 
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me guys! Thanks for the comments and kudos, they really did inspire me to keep going! 
> 
> Until next time guys!


End file.
